


Just a Fling

by aoigensou



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arthur Pendragon Saves the Day (Merlin), Beach Holidays, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Vacation, Good Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Jealousy, Lots of Sex, M/M, Near Drowning, Pining, Pining Merlin (Merlin), Slow Burn, Texting, Vacation, holiday romance, one night stand to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:14:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 59,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27979419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoigensou/pseuds/aoigensou
Summary: Merlin resisted the entire idea of going to a tropical island for the Christmas holidays with his mum and uncle Gaius. Yet here he is and he's determined to have a bad time to match his mood about the whole situation, until a near-fatal accident throws him into Arthur's path, whose family is also holidaying there. What starts as a sexy holiday fling blossoms into a friendship — and possibly more — over the course of the next year.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 127
Collections: Merlin Holidays 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [little_dhampir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_dhampir/gifts).



> There were so many good ideas to choose from in your requests, little_dhampir, but this one just grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. I hope you enjoy it! Happy holidays to you and to everyone you love!!
> 
> I do need to profusely thank the people that helped make this possible. To Wasp, who helped make sure I didn't sound too American and helped me with some little details that were honestly an immense help; to Leandra and Serena who were excellent cheerleaders when I was flagging; to Tori, without whom this whole fic would still be an unconnected set of ideas rather than a somewhat cohesive narrative; to my husband for the valiant attempt at keeping me on task when everything in me wanted to abandon it all; and lastly to the mods who were so patient with me when deadlines came and went and I was still crying actual tears over the state of this thing. Thank you all so very very much!

Merlin knew he was acting childishly, standing in the middle of the arrivals terminal with a pout on his face and his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest.

He’d known he was acting childishly for the last two weeks. His mother couldn’t stop rolling her eyes at his repeated excuses whenever she nagged him to go to Primark and buy a new pair of swimming trunks or to dig his suitcase out of the shed. His slightly, no, definitely, untrue claims of needing to finish and essay for some ambiguous class sounded disingenuous even to his own ears. There were no essays. Midterm exams were finished, and finals weren’t until the end of January. He was just lying to his mother as if he were 14 and grasping for excuses to not help out around the house. He couldn’t seem to help it, though, even if he logically knew his behaviour was inappropriate for his age and the situation. 

He was 20 and being taken on a fabulous holiday to a warm Caribbean island at no cost to himself, but he had dragged his feet every step of the way. His mother practically had to pack his bags for him the night before their flight to the Bahamas while Uncle Gaius sat in the living room and took inventory of their tickets and reservations and his own things. He knew he shouldn’t have been acting like a petulant teenager being told he was going to visit his grandparents when by all accounts he was being given a chance to have a really great time, even if it was with his elderly uncle and his mother rather than his friends or a significant other.

But really who spent Christmas on a tropical island instead of somewhere cold and cosy, like in a cabin in Norway or something? It was absurd, and Merlin was surly about it the entire flight over. It hadn’t helped that Heathrow at the holidays had been a nightmare to navigate between checking their bags and getting through security. The flight itself Merlin had been stuck between a father in the aisle seat passing a fussy baby back and forth across the aisle with his wife and their restless older child that insisted on having the window seat and wouldn’t stop asking Merlin inane questions for most of the 10-hour flight. By the time Merlin had made it through customs in Nassau and they’d picked up their bags, he was regretting ever saying yes to this stupid trip.

“Your uncle Gaius is getting old, Merlin. You know he’s not always going to be around, and he wants to take a trip with family before he’s too old to enjoy it. He wants to go somewhere warm for Christmas to escape the gloom of home. He’s willing to pay for both of us, if you want to come. Please come,” his mother had said, and Merlin hadn’t the heart to say no. His uncle Gaius — great uncle Gaius, really, since he was Merlin’s mother’s uncle — had been old for as long as Merlin could remember, and the thought of him eventually missing from the fabric of his life made him sad enough to agree to nearly anything. Even if the thought of palm trees rather than evergreen trees decorated for the holidays was enough to make him roll his eyes. He loved his uncle, he loved his mother, and it wasn’t as if he had a boyfriend to spend the school break with instead.

No, he’d been dumped by Gilli several weeks prior, and was nursing a broken heart and a small grudge that he’d spent a not-insignificant portion of his savings at the end of November on a Christmas gift for a boyfriend who didn’t want to be his boyfriend at all. And the gift was non-returnable. Now he had to figure out what to do with a first-edition Robert Louis Stevenson, when his interests and passion lay more in the medical realm. Merry Christmas to Merlin.

The Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau was much smaller than Heathrow, yet felt as though it had just as many people trying to get wherever they were going, and the crush of humanity made Merlin want to scream. He wanted to hop back onto the plane they’d just left and fly back home to his bed and his hot chocolate and his biscuits hidden from his mother in his bedroom. At least it was familiar, and not teeming with unwashed masses. He felt as though he’d be having a better time studying for upcoming exams in the new term than he was on his so-called holiday. His nerves were frayed and Hunith’s patience with his surly attitude was clearly at its limit by the time they made it out to the taxi stand to wait in line with a hundred other tourists to get to their resort.

Merlin pulled out his mobile and turned off airplane mode before he poked at it, wondering what his friends were up to and if they were having a better time than he was. Hunith was ignoring him in favour of chatting with Gaius and the attendant assisting people with taxis, and Merlin tuned them out as he opened WhatsApp only to find no new messages waiting for him. He sighed and sent a message to the group chat asking what everyone else was up to, then tucked his mobile back into his pocket and shifted uncomfortably in clothes that were too warm for the climate. It had been sleeting in London when they left, and the sensible wool jumper and jacket he’d worn to the airport now was making him sweat in the warm, humid Bahamian sunshine. He pulled off the jacket and draped it over his suitcase, grumbling to himself when the jacket slipped to the pavement instead of staying put.

Perfect analogy for his life, really. Just a load of tiny little inconveniences that piled up to make him miserable and grouchy. Just a sad jacket on the pavement of life. Hunith bent over to pick it up for him, and he sighed but didn’t thank her.

“Try to cheer up, darling boy,” she said as she carefully folded and set the jacket where Merlin had, but more carefully. Of course it stayed put for her, she had her life together. “We’re in paradise, and I’m sure you’ll be able to find something to occupy your time.” She straightened up, tucking her own jacket securely over her arm and showing off the sundress she’d chosen to wear on the flight, clearly thinking ahead better than Merlin had. He remembered she was wearing warm tights in London, but must have removed them when she’d run to the loo after they deplaned. She looked pretty, and younger than her age, even with the wrinkles in her forehead and around her eyes she affectionately blamed on him.

“Uh huh,” Merlin said sullenly. Hunith shook her head at him as if she were disappointed, her long brown hair blowing in the ocean breeze around her face. At home she kept it up in a tight bun, but it hung to her shoulders in loose waves. It reminded Merlin of the pictures of her he’d seen in the photo albums, of when she and his father had first met. Merlin felt a momentary stab of guilt at being the one bringing the mood down when she was so clearly ready to enjoy herself instead of being a busy nurse and the world’s greatest mum.

“Unless you’re planning on being a miserable lump in the hotel room the entire week.” She patted his cheek, and Merlin couldn’t help but give her a sour look.

“I might. You don’t know,” he said, just to be contrary.

As long as you’re quiet about it,” she said breezily, and Merlin rolled his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time since he started hearing about the stupid trip.

Finally it was their turn to get a taxi, and Merlin stood up straight to stretch one more time before cramming himself into the back of another vehicle. At least it wouldn’t be as bad as the plane, where it felt as though he had been folded in half and his knees were jammed into his Adam’s apple. Economy seating was no place for a person with long legs. The worst bit was when the teenager in the seat in front of him decided it was funny to lean the seat back as far back as it could go when he noticed Merlin squirming around. Merlin hadn’t committed murder, but it was a very close thing. His kneecaps might never be the same again. He was definitely not looking forward to the flight back home.

“Merlin, would you mind helping the gentleman load our bags into the boot?” Hunith asked as she helped Gaius into the taxi. Merlin heaved a long-suffering sigh as he turned and grabbed his bag, lifting it into the boot compartment after the friendly taxi-driver opened it and went to fetch the other bags. He figured he had it covered, and slipped into the front passenger seat, slumping down as he shoved the sleeves of his oversized jumper up his arms to try and get himself some air. His mobile vibrated in his pocket with a new message in the group chat, but he didn’t feel like trying to shove his hand into the pocket of his skinny jeans and fish it out while he was sitting, so he chose to lean against the door and gaze listlessly out the window. The taxi driver got in, and Merlin ignored the sound of Gaius giving him the information about their hotel, choosing to focus on the scenery passing by as they got moving.

The cheerful sun and happy-seeming residents of the island did nothing to soothe Merlin’s decidedly non-holiday mood. There were Christmas decorations here and there, but they seemed out of place in the beautiful warmth of the Caribbean paradise. He knew if it wasn’t for his own bias about what Christmas should look like that he’d find everything lovely, but he was determined to hold on to his bad mood regardless of the cheer around him.

The taxi pulled up in front of a small, brightly-painted resort property thirty minutes later after driving across a bridge from New Providence island over to Paradise Island, and the driver announced they’d arrived.

“Fantastic,” Gaius said as he groaned with the effort of pushing himself from the car. “I’ll go inside and check us in, shall I?”

“Oh please do,” Hunith said, and Merlin groaned, knowing what she was going to say next before she said it. “Merlin, please help with the bags, love.”

The driver had already exited the vehicle to open the boot, and Merlin considered just sitting there stubbornly for a few seconds, before reaching for the door handle. He might have been determined to make himself miserable, but that didn’t mean his mam deserved the full brunt of his attitude. She was gathering the smaller bags that were sat in back with them, throwing two of them over one shoulder. Merlin exited to a blinding bright sun beating down on him, making his jumper seem even more of a terrible choice as the sleeves slipped back down to his wrists and made him feel as though he was roasting. The heat wasn’t anything worse than he’d experience in the early summer back home, but he wouldn’t have been dressed in winter clothing in early summer back home.

“Thanks for the help,” Merlin managed to utter as he helped the taxi driver heave their luggage out of the boot and onto the pavement in front of the main entrance of the resort. The driver smiled a wide, friendly grin and Merin felt himself smiling back against his will.

“Merry Christmas,” the driver said. Hunith handed him some cash to pay him and he drove off with a jaunty wave.

“Still doesn’t feel like Christmas,” Merlin grumbled, the smile dropping from his face.

“Get used to it, cariad, we’re here for the next week,” Hunith shot back in a carefree voice as she waved at an approaching bellhop to request assistance. Gaius wasn’t far behind him waving their hotel keycards and a few brochures about things to do on the island.

“Our room is on the third floor, with a small balcony overlooking the garden,” he said as he handed out the keycards to Hunith and Merlin. “Apparently it’s a very lovely view.”

“I’m sure it is,” Hunith said. Merlin refrained from muttering that they came halfway across the world for a beach vacation and they didn’t even have a beach view so what was the point. Something must have come across in his expression, though, because Hunith elbowed him with a pinched look before she smiled at the bellhop as he led them toward the lifts to take them to their room.

The room itself was relatively roomy, though Merlin only saw two beds and was internally throwing a tantrum about there not even being enough beds for three people. He hadn’t shared a bed with his mother since he was young enough to be afraid of the dark, he didn’t want to start again now on holiday.

“And every evening we will send someone to get the sofa bed set up and ready for you,” the bellhop said as Merlin began paying attention again. His eyes flew over to the worn but clean-looking sofa that stood between the beds and the sliding door that let out to the balcony. So there were technically three beds, but one of them was a sofa bed? And worse, he knew he would never in a million years make either Hunith or Uncle Gaius sleep on it, so he was stuck with it by default. What, had he gone on holiday to his friend Will’s dingy little flat?!

“Thank you so much,” Hunith said graciously as she held out some money to tip the young man.

“Just call the front desk if you need anything,” The young man said with a smile. “All the numbers you’ll need are in the book by the phone.”

“Can someone come set up the sofa bed now?” Merlin asked before the bellhop could exit. He knew his tone was less than polite, but he was tired and grouchy and just wanted a nap. “I’m a bit jet lagged and think I could use some sleep.”

“Of course, right away,” the young man said, then slipped out of the room.

“That was rude, Merlin,” Hunith scolded. Merlin shrugged carelessly and threw himself down onto the sofa. It wasn’t the worst he’d ever sat on, so hopefully the bed inside was at least liveable if he was to sleep on it for the next week. He didn’t want to come out of this holiday with back problems.

“Whatever, you can talk to them however you want if you tip them enough. Isn’t that how rich people go through life?” Merlin asked, curling up on the sofa without even taking his shoes off.

“Merlin Wyllt, I raised you better than this,” Hunith said sharply and Merlin winced with his entire body. He didn’t apologise. He did, however, kick his shoes off, even though he knew that wasn’t what his mother had been referring to with her reprimand. “Come get your things, you’re old enough to take care of yourself,” she said, frowning at him in a way that Merlin recognised as her patience wearing dangerously thin. He did as she asked and dragged his two bags over toward the sofa to stand next to the wall between the sofa and the sliding glass door. A knock on the hotel door gave him pause, and Gaius opened the door to a woman wearing a housekeeping uniform saying she was here to prepare the bed for them.

“I’ll be in the bathroom,” he said, making his escape to privacy and turning the water on to run so he didn’t have to hear the voices in the main room talking. Ten minutes later, he poked his head out to make sure the woman had gone.

“I honestly don’t know what is wrong with you,” Hunith murmured as he passed her digging through her bag for something. “We’re on holiday to a beautiful place, and you are being a diawl bach.”

“I just want a nap,” Merlin said, shucking his jumper and jeans off and throwing himself onto the sofa bed. It was just this side of too hard, but he thought better of complaining about it when his mother was clearly finished with his attitude. The cool air of the climate-controlled room hit his overwarm skin and raised goose pimples, but it felt nice to get out of the hot, sweaty winter clothing at last.

“Sleep well,” Hunith said, and Merlin grunted a response as he turned over and closed his eyes.

***

Upon waking, Merlin felt groggy in a way that disoriented him. He sat up with a start, rubbing his eyes and looking around wildly to figure out where he was. His stomach rumbled its displeasure at having been neglected as he let himself fall backwards when he recognised the hotel room.

“What time is it?” he asked. Gaius was sitting in bed wearing his pyjamas and reading glasses, reading a book while Hunith bustled around in a robe looking ready to go to bed as well.

“Nearly 9,” she said, and Merlin frowned. He hadn’t meant to sleep that long.

“Why did you let me sleep so long?” he demanded.

“You’re a grown man, Merlin. You can take responsibility for yourself,” Hunith said. Merlin wanted to argue, but he knew she was right. He also knew if she tried to treat him as if he were a teenager again he would be even more upset. “Uncle Gaius and I went out for dinner, we brought you back some mushroom risotto. It’s in the refrigerator.” She gestured to the mini-fridge under the desk. “Or it’s still early enough for you to go out and explore if you want. I hear there’s a pretty hopping nightlife here.”

“Don’t say it like that, mam,” Merlin groaned with a soft laugh. “You sound old when you try to sound young.”

Hunith sniffed in mock offense. “I’ll have you know I was quite cool in my day, young man.”

“I’m sure you were,” Merlin said sincerely. “Though now you’re getting ready for bed at a ridiculously early time like some sort of granny.”

“You’re not the only one who’s jet lagged,” Hunith pointed out. “We just wanted to be refreshed for tomorrow.”

“I’m retired, I go to bed when I damn well please,” Gaius added, giving Merlin a hint of disapproving eyebrow action. Merlin raised his hands defensively.

“You’re right,” he said. Gaius turned back to his book and Merlin sighed. “I kind of regret sleeping the whole afternoon and evening,” he added. “Now I’ll be up all night.”

“Eat something and occupy yourself for a while. You’ll get tired again before you know it,” Hunith advised.

“I think I’ll have a go at the risotto,” Merlin said, shoving himself out of bed with a loud groan. “Thanks, mam.”

“Of course, cariad,” Hunith said, pushing herself onto her tiptoes to brush a kiss on Merlin’s cheek as he passed her by. Merlin pulled out the paper to-go box of risotto, a plastic fork placed on top for him, and grabbed the remote control to turn on the telly for some background noise.

“Not too loud, please,” Gaius requested without looking up from his book. Merlin lowered the volume until it was just loud enough to hear but not loud enough to really make out what anyone was saying. He didn’t much care what was on, he just wanted the light and the sound to banish the unfamiliar stillness of the hotel room. He sat back on the sofa bed with his legs crossed and balanced the box of risotto on one knee, digging into the goopy, cold rice.

“This is pretty good, even cold,” he remarked with his mouth full. Hunith rolled her eyes.

“Good,” she said, but didn’t scold him for his manners. Merlin grinned and reached for his phone to open WhatsApp and let his friends know he was still alive.

 **Merlin:** Made it to the Bahamas safely  
**Merlin:** But it was so boring I fell asleep immediately  
**Gwen:** Oh Merlin, please at least try to have a bit of fun  
**Freya:** I would trade places with you anytime  
**Merlin:** Shouldn’t you 2 be sleeping?  
**Gwen:** I’m in bed, dw  
**Gwen:** Brother is being loud with his new gf tho so I can’t sleep  
**Freya:** Ew gross  
**Gwen:** Freya you dated Elyan when we were 17  
**Freya:** I know, what was wrong with me  
**Gwen:** 🤨  
**Gwen:** I should be mad since that’s my brother  
**Gwen:** But you’re right and you should say it  
**Freya:** 😘

Merlin watched his friends bantering back and forth and for a moment missed them desperately even though he wouldn’t have even been with them if he were back home. It wasn’t as though a week on holiday was going to change anything. He knew he was being childish, but he just couldn’t seem to shake himself out of it.

 **Gwen:** What are you planning on doing tomorrow, Merlin?  
**Merlin:** Would you get mad if I said I just wanted to stay in the room and watch telly?  
**Freya:** omg Merlin you’re on a tropical island  
**Freya:** If you don’t go to the beach you’re dead to me  
**Will:** what I miss  
**Will:** pub’s been slammed all day  
**Will:** I’m fucking tired  
**Merlin:** Just Freya threatening to disown me  
**Will:** the usual then  
**Gwen:** She’s right though Merlin  
**Merlin:** 🙄  
**Gwen:** Why are you so dead set against having fun  
**Merlin:** I just hate it doesn’t feel like Christmas  
**Will:** christmas is overrated  
**Will:** go to a club and bang a fit bird in my honour  
**Merlin:** Yeah that’s not gonna happen any time soon  
**Will:** a bloke then fine  
**Will:** be picky about it  
**Freya:** Gross Will  
**Merlin:** You guys are no help  
**Gwen:** Just go have fun, please  
**Merlin:** Yes, mum  
**Gwen:** Fuck off  
**Gwen:** Just because I’m the mum friend doesn’t mean you can call me that 🥺  
**Merlin:** Love u Gwen 😘

The conversation drifted off after that, since everyone had their own things to get back to. Merlin said goodnight and shut the app, tapping open a game to occupy his hands for a while while he tried to make himself tired again.

“Shut the telly off when you’re done, Merlin,” Hunith said as she settled into bed. Merlin nodded and sighed as she shut off the lights next to her and Gaius. He would probably go to a beach like Freya insisted just to say he’d done it, but that didn’t mean he was going to have fun. 

Merlin shifted the now-empty risotto container to the floor next to his bed and settled in with the remote control, readying himself for a long night of boredom. So far it was looking to be the most miserable holiday season he’d ever had.

***

When Merlin woke the next morning he felt more refreshed than he had expected to considering the mattress he slept on and the way he’d felt waking after his extended nap the evening before. He was honestly surprised he had even been able to get back to sleep at all. His neck was a little stiff, though, and he twisted it this way and that to stretch it out. He yawned widely, stretching his arms over his head before dropping them and scratching his bare stomach sleepily.

“Oh you’re awake. Good morning cariad,” Hunith said, popping her head out of the closet where she was hanging up her clothing. Merlin made a face.

“Morning mam. Why’re you unpacking? We’re only here for a week,” he said.

“Well some of us don’t like wearing wrinkled clothes,” Hunith said with a smile and a shake of her head. “I don’t expect you to understand, considering every shirt you have ever owned is made of wrinkles.”

“Nobody cares!” Merlin protested. “They’re just clothes.”

“It’s about impressions, darling,” she said. “Honestly, I shudder to think what people think of you when they see you. Must think your poor mam never showed you how to use an iron.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Merlin said, unable to hide a smile.

“Says the one who was so determined to have a bad time on holiday,” Hunith gently scolded. Merlin ducked his head in shame.

“I’m sorry for how I acted yesterday. And most of the past month,” he mumbled. “I know traveling is stressful enough without adding an attitude problem.”

“I’m glad you recognise that, cariad,” Hunith said with a sweet smile Merlin didn’t feel like he deserved. “But honestly it wasn’t any worse than when you were a teenager. I’ve learned by now I just need to let you tire yourself out when you’re having a tantrum.”

“I’m hardly a toddler!” Merlin yelped. Hunith shot him an unimpressed look before ducking back into the closet to finish hanging things up.

“Merlin my boy, you’re up,” Gaius said as he walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a ridiculous floral printed linen shirt and Bermuda shorts. His long white hair was tied up into an approximation of a man-bun but decidedly less fashionable. Merlin wanted to point out that he was the very caricature of a tourist, but figured he’d let the old man have his fun.

“I slept like a rock,” Merlin said, standing to rifle through his suitcase for something to wear and settling on a plain t-shirt and pair of navy blue shorts. Both items were as wrinkled as his mother had teased him about, and he resisted the urge to use the iron the resort provided in the room and prove Hunith right.

“Yes we could hear by your snoring,” Gaius said. “Loudest I’ve ever heard. Like a chainsaw.”

“I don’t snore!” Merlin protested. Gaius laughed.

“Don’t let him rile you up so early in the morning, Merlin,” Hunith called as she shook out a dress and hung it up. “Not before breakfast, at least.”

“I’m starving,” Merlin said at the mention of food. “What are we doing for breakfast?”

“The resort has a buffet available to guests,” Gaius said. Merlin hummed in acknowledgement as he shoved his shirt over his head and dug through his suitcase for his sandals.

“Hope there’s more options for me than just toast,” he muttered.

“Surely there will be fruit,” Hunith said, finally stepping out of the closet wearing a breezy sundress and hat.

“You look cute,” Merlin said, giving her an admiring look. Hunith twirled around to show off, and Merlin laughed.

“Bought it new for the trip. Figured I’d take it for a spin today. Uncle Gaius and I are going to have a go at the Atlantis Casino, and might stop by the beach after lunch.” She gathered a few things into a canvas bag.

“Casino, huh? Well when you win big you can upgrade our flights home to first class,” Merlin said with a grin.

“Keep dreaming, cyw,” Hunith said, swatting at Merlin as he passed by to get to the door.

“Come on you two, it’s breakfast time!” Merlin said, opening the door and waving a hand to shoo Hunith and Gaius out.

“We’ll be there now in a minute,” Hunith said, and Merlin swore her movements slowed down. He resisted the urge to sigh and stomp his foot, knowing Hunith was just getting back at him for his prior childishness.

Later, when the three of them had eaten their fill of pastries, eggs, and tropical fruits and were sitting sipping at their tea, Merlin pulled out his mobile to try and decide what he wanted to do for the day.

“Will says there’s a waterpark here he saw in a Buzzfeed article,” Merlin mused as he scrolled through recommendation lists with a bored flick of his thumb.

“Oh yes, that’s near the casino we’re going to. The same property, I think,” Hunith said.

Merlin shrugged. “I’m not sure I want to go. It would probably be more fun if I were with people my own age.”

“Are you calling your mam old?” Hunith teased, swatting at Merlin’s arm playfully. He gave her a cheeky grin.

“Too right I am.”

The two of them scuffled harmlessly as Gaius watched with an indulgent smile, until Merlin finally sat back in his chair with a soft chuckle.

“You’re welcome to come to the Atlantis with us,” Hunith said after a few moments.. Gaius waved a hand.

“Let the boy alone, Hunith. He’ll chase away all the good luck and I have no intention of losing money today,” he said. Merlin shot a pout at Gaius.

“I would not,” Merlin argued even though he had no plans of joining them. Gaius waved a dismissive hand at him as if he didn’t believe him. “I was thinking about just going to the beach anyway. Get a head start on my holiday sunburn.”

“Well off with you, then. But don’t forget the sun cream. I don’t want to hear you whinging and wailing about any burns you might actually get,” Hunith said, leaning over to rummage around in her bag before pulling out an unopened tube along with a white bucket hat, offering both items to him. Merlin rolled his eyes.

“I’m not that bad,” he muttered. Hunith made a noise of disbelief, and Merlin grabbed the obnoxiously coconut-scented SPF 30 out of her hand before she could say anything else and ignoring the hat entirely. “How many of these do you have in there?” he asked, because he knew she wouldn’t have given him her only one. “How many of these things do you think we’re going to use over a week, mam? Honestly.”

“Never you mind, Merlin. Better safe and prepared,” Hunith replied, pointedly ignoring the cheek in Merlin’s question and shaking the hat at him insistently, which Merlin pretended not to see. “You wouldn’t believe some of the cases of skin cancer I’ve seen in hospital.”

“Oh, are we swapping horror stories?” Gaius asked, perking up. “Because I certainly have a few after nearly 50 years practicing—“

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll use the damn cream,” Merlin interrupted, dropping the tube into the messenger bag he was using to carry his beach towel and spare t-shirt and underwear. He may have been studying to be a doctor, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hear his mother’s and Gaius’ horror stories any more than he already had growing up. He stood from his chair and began clearing away the empty breakfast dishes. Hunith seemed to give up on the hat and shooed him away before tucking the hat back into her bag.

“Stop, we’ll take care of that when we’re finished. Have a good time, fy machgen,” she said with a bright smile. Merlin couldn’t help but smile back even through his annoyance.

“You too, mam. Make sure to win big!” He picked up his bag and tossed it over one shoulder so it lay across his body, then headed out into the sunshine.

It was a relatively short walk to the beach, and now that Merlin was dressed appropriately he found the warmer weather almost pleasant. So long as he didn’t think about the fact that it was _December_. 

Once he was a bit away from their resort, he changed course slightly and headed away from the crowded budget resorts toward the long, palm-lined drive of The Ocean Club. He hadn’t wanted to admit it to his mother, but the one thing that had interested him during his listless googling of Bahama’s attractions was that the Bahamas scenes in _Casino Royale_ had apparently been filmed quite close to where they were staying and he was determined to get a peek. It may have made him a walking gay stereotype, but Daniel Craig as James Bond had played a formative role in his adolescence and he couldn’t resist the chance to stand where he had once stood. 

Merlin turned a corner and internally geeked out to see the building appear from behind the lush trees. The reception building, with its wide, airy porch and thick white columns, was familiar to him from so many rewatches. The front of the building was a bustle of activity, with cars pulling up to the entrance and bellhops and valets hurrying to assist the people climbing out of them, so Merlin took the opportunity to slip through the doors and into the lobby. 

Merlin did his best to act casual and bored-looking on the outside, but inside his jaw was gaping. The lobby was incredibly posh, with shiny, sand coloured marble floors, high vaulted ceilings and honest to god chandeliers. There were several people checking in at the front desk, so Merlin slipped into a side room, attempting to look as though he was waiting for someone rather than in shock over how expensive everything looked. 

Everywhere he looked there were gleaming parquet floors, dark antique furniture and lush tropical plants accenting the large airy spaces. There was even a huge Christmas tree against the far wall, decked out with sparkling silver and blue baubles, big silver poinsettias, and dangling silver ornaments. Merlin was debating pushing his luck to see if he could get a look at the cove where James Bond had seduced the dark-haired wife of the corrupt Greek official (who Merlin had _definitely_ not pretended to be in his wank fantasies), when he spotted one of the staff looking at him. The dark skinned man was smiling at him in a way that would somehow be both completely innocuous if you belonged there, but vaguely threatening if you didn’t. After that, Merlin decided to scarper for the adjoining public beach.

He kicked off his sandals when he got to the edge of the sand and, after several minutes of struggling in the wind, managed to get his towel spread out on a relatively uncrowded portion of the beach. He sat cross-legged and dutifully applied his sun cream, going through a mental checklist of all the places he’d accidentally sunburned burned before -- tops of his toes, tips of his ears, armpits -- and making sure each got its due. 

As he massaged the white cream into his equally white skin, he let his gaze drift across the horizon, taking in the little white sailboats bobbing in the impossibly blue water and the waves painting the smooth white sand brown as they crashed into shore. He had to admit that for all his fuss, it really was quite beautiful. When he’d looked his fill, he turned his gaze to the beach around him. Lounge chairs and big umbrellas dotted the white sand and there was a mixture of couples walking along at the water’s edge, older people like Uncle Gaius who were practically fully dressed against the sun, and tired-looking mums building sandcastles and laughing with their children. 

The sun was already getting hot as it inched its way higher in the sky, so Merlin stood up to stretch, anchored his towel with his sandals, and ambled to the water’s edge. He wandered away from the crowd a bit, making sure to pick a landmark so he could find his way back to the towel. He passed a group of fit looking men about his age playing volleyball and tried not to stare too hard at bulging muscles and tiny shorts and miles of tanned skin slick from sun cream. 

As he gazed over the waves, he noticed that one section of the shore seemed more calm than the others. The smooth patch of sea looked like a dark slash in the otherwise frothy ocean, and Merlin approached it curiously. He’d always been a fair swimmer at best, so he was happy to see a patch of water that didn’t look as churning as the rest. As he ventured into the water, he found that the shore dropped off quite quickly and soon he was paddling around the calm patch with the deliciously warm water cooling his sun-hot skin. 

There seemed to be a commotion and some yelling coming from the volleyball game, so Merlin tentatively leaned back and was able to kick up his legs and float on his back. The water closed over his ears, blocking out the noise and he blinked up into the bright sky happily, feeling utterly content for just a moment. The water rushed around him, jostling him slightly, until finally a small wave broke over him and he came back to upright, sputtering a bit. 

When he had gotten his feet back under him and wiped the water from his eyes, he looked back to the shore and frowned. He didn’t think he’d been floating that long, but the shore looked further away than he had thought it would be. He stretched an arm and tried to make some strokes back to shore, but suddenly found that the calm bit of sea was pushing against him. 

A cold trickle of fear ran down Merlin’s spine. He started paddling faster, his limbs spasming in panic, but he couldn't seem to make up any ground. In fact, he seemed to be moving even further away from the shore. Merlin kicked his feet frantically and windmilled his arms, but as he did, a small swell of water rose and broke over him. Then another. It wasn’t until the third time he came up sputtering and unable to get a full breath, Merlin realized he was drowning. His brain raced frantically, trying to remember everything he had ever been warned about the sea. Was he supposed to struggle or just let it take him out? He tried to call for help, even though he was probably too far away for anyone to hear, but he couldn’t get enough air to make a noise and all his focus was on the small gasp he could get as the water continued to sweep over him.

Eventually — when his lungs were on fire from lack of oxygen and his muscles were burning from lactic acid — he closed his eyes, resigned. He desperately wished he could see his mother one last time to tell her that he loved her and that he was sorry he’d acted like such an ass about their holiday. He hoped that drowning wouldn’t hurt.

He inhaled a breath that was nearly all seawater and then felt a sharp jerk on his arm, pulling him sideways. He had just enough time to wonder whether a giant squid had come to finish him off when a strong arm hooked under his armpit and a firm hand gripped his chin, tilting it upwards. Merlin choked and then gulped in great mouthfuls of fresh air, wanting to cry with relief. He continued to be tugged parallel to the shore as he wavered in and out of consciousness.

When he came to again, it was to the sensation of his body being tossed down on the sand and mutters of what sounded like _bloody fucking idiot._ He managed to crack his eyes open just a bit only to see a blond, muscled god of a man leaning over and about to kiss him. 

Merlin had just a moment to think _so I have died after all_ before the man pinched his nose, sealed his mouth over Merlin’s and forced a stream of air into his lungs. 

Merlin sputtered, twisting his head away from the uncomfortable sensation of someone breathing for him, and tried to prop himself up on his elbows. 

“What the--” the man said, sitting back on his knees and sounding angry. “Are you okay? What the hell were you thinking?”

Merlin took in the man’s muscled arms, his fierce blue eyes, his ridiculously chiseled jaw and was desperate to say something sauve — something that would let them laugh this all off. 

He opened his mouth to speak and promptly vomited seawater directly into the man’s lap.

***

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Merlin said a half hour later in an embarrassingly hoarse voice (that was getting better the more time passed, but still). “Or apologise for throwing up on you.”

“It’s nothing,” his rescuer, who had introduced himself as Arthur in between panicked bouts of first aid once Merlin had fully regained consciousness and finished throwing up the ocean, said. “A little seawater down one’s front never hurt anyone. I would have been more worried if you hadn’t coughed up the bit of the Caribbean you inhaled. I wish you would let me take you to get checked out at hospital, thoughl.”

“I’m fine,” Merlin said. “Just a bit shaken. I don’t think I inhaled much water.”

“And you’d be an expert about that?” Arthur asked skeptically.

“I know a thing or two,” Merlin said, resisting the urge to childishly stick his tongue out. “I’m in my third year of medical school, I think I know when I need to be examined.” Arthur’s skeptical look didn’t fade.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” he said in a tone that suggested he knew he wasn’t wrong, “but aren’t doctors always the worst patients? And isn’t it a bad idea to diagnose yourself? An even worse idea, really, since you’re not actually a doctor yet.”

Merlin felt torn between annoyance and the need to try and ease the concern that was poorly hidden behind Arthur’s neutral expression. “It really is fine, I promise. My mam is an A&E nurse and my uncle’s a retired GP. They’ll know if something’s wrong when I get back to the room.”

Arthur’s shoulders relaxed minutely, and Merlin exhaled in relief. All at once he felt the embarrassment of the situation fully catch up with him, however. “Fuck I feel like an idiot, though,” Merlin groaned, leaning his face into his hands, resting his elbows on the edge of the table at the ice cream shop Arthur had led him to.

“Well, you are an idiot so it’s very appropriate to feel that way,” Arthur said. Merlin let his head fall from his hands down onto the table.

“Well that’s a fine way to comfort someone whose life you just saved,” he muttered.

“I’m not going to coddle someone who swam headfirst into a rip tide,” Arthur said, sounding angry enough that Merlin looked up at him. “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

“I… no?” Merlin said, feeling sheepish for being at all petulant. “I just wanted to swim, and the water there was calm.”

Arthur muttered something under his breath that sounded like, _fucking amateurs_ , and ran a hand over his face in exasperation. Merlin wanted to object, but unfortunately he wasn’t wrong.

“You didn’t stop to wonder about why nobody else was swimming there?” he asked, and Merlin slowly shook his head, biting his lip as he straightened back up.

“I just saw calm water, I didn’t really think about it,” he admitted. Arthur scoffed.

“Clearly there’s your problem,” Arthur said. Merlin sighed.

“Yes well I won’t be making that mistake again,” he said with a frown.

“Good.”

“Right.”

The conversation died, and Merlin plucked at the edge of his damp, sandy t-shirt as he tried to think of a way to pay his hero — prat though he seemed to be — back. He might have had a shitty personality, but he still saved Merlin’s life.

“Listen,” he finally said to break the silence, just as Arthur started speaking as well.

“Hey—”

They both laughed awkwardly.

“You go first,” Merlin said with a wave of his hand.

“Right,” Arthur said awkwardly. “Sorry. I don’t mean to come off like a prick about this. It’s just, last year someone died in a rip tide, and it’s never a pleasant thing to hear about.” He ran his finger along the edge of the table and Merlin’s eyes followed the movement.

“I’m really glad you were there to pull me out,” Merlin said softly.

“I am as well,” Arthur said.

“Can I buy you an ice cream to thank you?” Merlin asked, feeling stupider by the moment.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Arthur said, but Merlin was already digging through his bag to try and unearth his wallet.

“‘Course I do,” Merlin protested. “You saved my life and it’s literally the least I can do in exchange.” He straightened up with his wallet triumphantly clutched in his hand. “So what can I get for you?”

“Rum raisin, I suppose,” Arthur said, giving Merlin a bemused look. Merlin flashed him a grin before hopping to his feet with more agility than he felt he had at the moment, and went inside to order for the two of them. He emerged a few minutes later with two cups full of ice cream and handed Arthur his. Arthur kept his eyes on Merlin as he sat down; it was the sort of look that made Merlin feel hot all over. He squirmed in his seat as he poked at his ice cream.

“Stop looking at me like that, I’m fine,” Merlin said around a bite of cold, creamy vanilla bean flavour. He glanced back at Arthur, who very obviously gave him a head-to-to once over with his eyes.

“Clearly,” he said, almost flirtatiously. Merlin blinked, confused. He didn’t know if he was actually being flirted with, or if he was being teased, or bullied. Perhaps to get back at him for the stupid swimming decision necessitating rescue. Merlin blushed and lowered his eyes back to his own ice cream that had started melting in the early afternoon sunshine.

“You want to go get lunch?” Arthur asked as they both finished their ice cream. Merlin bit his lip and thought about it for a moment before nodding.

“As long as you let me pay,” he said. Arthur frowned.

“That’s really not necessary,” he objected. Merlin set his jaw stubbornly.

“I think it is,” he said. Arthur sighed and shot him an annoyed look that Merlin took to mean he had won.

“Fine, whatever you like,” Arthur said. Merlin grinned.

“What are you in the mood for?” he asked as he stood and grabbed his bag.

“Follow me, I know a place,” Arthur said.

“Great.”

***

The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon together, first at lunch then just slowly wandering the picturesque streets along the beachfront properties of Paradise Island. Despite Arthur’s lapses into the sort of prattishness that would normally put him off, Merlin found himself really enjoying their time together. When he stopped to reapply sun cream as he felt the sun beating down on him in a way that heralded a nasty burn, Arthur offered to help him get the back of his neck without much teasing (and oh how the feel of those fingertips trailing over his neck had made Merlin shiver in a tense sort of anticipation that he had to work very hard to not let go to his nether regions so his dick didn't get the wrong idea about springing an erection over some probably-straight practical stranger). And when there was teasing, it was mutual. Merlin teased Arthur about sounding like a public schoolboy with his plummy accent, and Arthur shot back that Merlin sounded like a Welsh yokel. It was all in good fun, and Merlin found himself regretting when the sun started dipping lower in the sky signalling they would have to part soon.

“So I was thinking,” Arthur said as they paused in the shade of an enormous, gnarled tree.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Merlin said with a grin. Arthur reached out and smacked Merlin’s shoulder without a thought, and it was a cosy sort of intimacy that felt as though they’d been friends for years rather than hours.

“We’re having a good time,” he continued, and Merlin hummed in agreement. “Want to keep it going for a while longer? And have dinner with me?”

“I can’t,” Merlin said with an unhappy frown. Arthur’s own face screwed up in disappointment.

“Oh, I see,” he said softly. Merlin shook his head.

“I really want to, though. It’s just, I promised my mam I would have dinner with her and my uncle tonight.”

Arthur seemed to brighten at Merlin’s explanation. “Ah.”

“Besides, I thought you wanted me to have them check me out,” Merlin said. “You know, make sure I’m not dying or anything after what happened earlier.”

“You are absolutely right, Merlin,” Arthur said. “For once.”

“Hey!” Merlin protested as Arthur burst into laughter.

“What about tomorrow?” Arthur asked after he quieted. Merlin shrugged.

“I don’t have any plans.” He gave Arthur a wry smile. “Well, other than avoiding the beach since I clearly can’t be trusted.”

“Very true,” Arthur agreed. “Want to meet up tomorrow around 10?”

“That sounds fine,” Merlin said. “What did you have planned?”

“It’s a surprise,” Arthur said, and Merling resisted the urge to tease him about trying to be mysterious. “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Just wear comfortable shoes.”

***

The next morning, Merlin woke early to shower and try and tame his hair into some semblance of tidy, but gave up after several minutes of patting down the curls on the sides of his head only to have them spring back up. He grumbled to himself, wishing he’d got that haircut Hunith had told him he should get before the trip, and ran some styling mousse through his hair to try and make the unruliness look at least a bit purposeful. It didn’t really work.

Merlin eventually gave up on his hair and shoved his feet into his sandals while slapping on some sun cream and locating his phone. He left Hunith and Gaius a quick note on the hotel stationery that he went out to explore the island with the friend he made yesterday, and he had his phone in case they needed him. After a moment of indecision and lip-biting, he didn’t promise he’d be back for dinner. He rather hoped Arthur would renew his previous invitation. If not, he could always come back regardless. His family wasn’t going anywhere.

“Have fun, cariad,” Hunith called sleepily from bed, “and please be more careful today.” 

Merlin checked his pockets one last time for his hotel key card, wallet and phone and that his sunglasses were hooked in the collar of his t-shirt. He smiled wryly back at her over his shoulder, though she couldn’t see it as her eyes were still closed in a doze.

“You too, mam,” he said, before softly shutting the door behind him. There were several other guests he passed on his way through the halls, getting ready for beachy adventures he figured based on the number of beach towels and swimming costumes under gauzy floral-printed coverups. Merlin hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should go back and put on his swim trunks under his shorts, before shaking his head. Arthur hadn’t mentioned anything about swimming, just wearing something comfortable. He donned his sunglasses as he entered the morning sunshine and inhaled the salty air with relish he hadn’t expected to feel before setting off.

When he got to the spot he was supposed to meet Arthur, he was 40 minutes early, and felt embarrassed for being so overeager that he couldn’t just sit in the hotel room for a while longer. He looked around, searching for a café or someplace he could get a coffee, finding a small number of people sitting under some umbrellas further up the street. He walked by, and sure enough was a café advertising breakfast and coffee. Merlin pulled out his phone to check the time again, before heading to the counter to order coffee and a pastry.

Half an hour later, Merlin was caffeinated and feeling a bit jittery as he walked back to the meeting spot, recognising Arthur leaning casually against the wall of the building and looking at his phone. Merlin stopped and stared at him, taking in the easy elegance of his pose, and the effortless style of his designer jeans and polo. He had a baseball cap pulled over his blond hair, and was wearing brown leather sandals that showed off pale toes with a dusting of even paler blond hair. Merlin wanted to touch it, to see if it was soft or coarse. He wanted to run a finger along those toes, to tease Arthur for his hairy hobbit feet. He wanted to kiss Arthur’s instep, to kiss further…

Shaking his head to try and dislodge those thoughts, Merlin lifted his hand to catch Arthur’s attention as he approached. He had known the guy for less than 24 hours, it was much too early for sexual fantasies involving his feet, he firmly told himself. Be normal, Merlin.

“Merlin, there you are,” Arthur said, tucking his mobile away into the pocket of his jeans. “I was starting to think you were going to stand me up.”

“What?” Merlin said, confused. He pulled his own mobile out to double-check the time, and saw he was only a few minutes late. “But I’m on time?”

Arthur laughed and hoisted a canvas bag over his shoulder as he straightened up, pushing himself away from the wall. “I was joking, idiot.”

“I knew that,” Merlin said, feeling his face heat with embarrassment. “What’s the bag for?” he asked, to deflect the attention off himself for a bit until he could get his bearings.

“It’s for later,” Arthur said as he gave Merlin an obvious once-over. “You seem to be still alive at least.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, like I told you yesterday,” he said flippantly, though he did fail to mention the dressing down Hunith had given him as she had looked him over after he told her what happened. He swore his ears were still ringing.

“You’re a walking disaster, is what you are,” Arthur countered as he walked to the edge of the sidewalk and looked down the street. He ignored the rude gesture Merlin made at him as he put his arm out at a passing car. The car slowed down until it pulled over next to them. It took Merlin a moment to realise it was a taxi. “Come on, get in.”

“Where are you taking me?” Merlin asked as he slid in. Arthur walked around to the other side, pausing at the driver’s window to talk to him for a moment before he entered, giving Merlin a mysterious smile.

“You’ll see.”

“I definitely don’t feel like I’m about to be murdered and have my body dumped in some bog somewhere,” Merlin muttered. Apparently it was loud enough for Arthur to hear, since he snickered. Even the driver laughed, turning halfway around at a traffic signal to look back at them.

“We don’t have bogs here, we have marshes,” he said, clearly enjoying his passengers’ conversation.

“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,” Merlin said, deadpan. Arthur rolled his eyes with a grin.

“I promise I’m not going to murder you and dump your body in a marsh,” he said, holding his hand up as if he were taking an oath. “I just wanted to take you to one of my favourite spots on the island.”

“So long as you promise,” Merlin said as he settled back to enjoy the ride from Paradise Island back to New Providence and the main part of Nassau. Several minutes of comfortable quiet passed, until Arthur spoke again.

“How into pirates are you?” he asked. Merlin looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, something he learned from uncle Gaius.

“I don’t know, a regular amount I guess. Why?”

“Well Nassau used to be a pirate stronghold, Blackbeard had a base here or something. They say his ghost haunts Old Fort Nassau, or at least the site of the fort. I think it’s now a Hilton or something,” Arthur said. 

“Huh. Tourism always ruining everything,” Merlin joked. Arthur shot him a crooked smile.

“I guess. I just think the history of the place is interesting. Pirates and privateers, the British Crown against the lawless upstarts. The Republic of Pirates. Fascinating stuff.” Arthur sounded enthusiastic as he spoke, and Merlin found it infectious.

“History student?” he guessed. He figured Arthur was around his age, and that combined with his obvious penchant for history made it seem like a likely guess. Arthur’s smile dimmed a bit, however.

“Business. Graduated at the end of fall term from Cambridge. I wish I could have read history and literature instead, though,” he said. Merlin frowned, feeling upset on his behalf that he wasn’t doing what he wanted to with his life.

“Why couldn’t you?” he asked. Arthur shrugged in what seemed to be a carefully careless way, his smile tight around the edges.

“My father expected me to join the family business, so I did what I had to in order to make it happen. I start working there in the new year.” He turned to stare out the window, and Merlin regretted saying anything.

“You don’t sound that excited about it,” he murmured. Arthur shook his head.

“I’m not dreading it, per se, but… well, my father and I have different personalities. My younger sister Morgana is more like him. But as I’m older, I have always been expected to take things over when my father retires. It’s a good position, it will give me a good life.” Merlin could see Arthur staring even harder out the window, but had a feeling he wasn’t seeing anything other than some life mapped out for him with no control over it. He reached over and awkwardly patted his shoulder.

“It’ll be fine, hey? Sorry, didn’t mean to hit a heavy topic.”

Arthur shook himself out of it, and grinned rather weakly back at Merlin. “Yeah, it will be fine.” He brightened up, pointing out at a sign at the side of the road. “But we’re almost there.” The sign read _Fort Fincastle_ and _Queen’s Staircase_. Neither of those things meant anything to Merlin, so he shrugged and figured he was about to get the history nerd’s tour of Nassau. Ah well, at least the history nerd in question was hot.

When the cab dropped them off, Arthur led Merlin to an overgrown walkway filled with jungle foliage that made Merlin feel as though he’d stepped into a different time. It almost seemed as though if he turned around he’d see a pirate hiding in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. It was exciting; Merlin could feel his own awestruck expression and was hesitant to look over at Arthur in case he was laughing at his childishness. He couldn’t help it, though, there wasn’t anything quite like this in Wales.

At the end of the walkway stood a set of stairs carved from stone, Merlin figured they were the Queen’s Staircase from the sign.

“You brought me to an old set of stairs?” he asked, doing his best to sound unimpressed. Arthur shoved his arm, making him stumble with a disgruntled noise.

“Shut up and start climbing,” he said, ordering Merlin toward the staircase with a no-nonsense point of his finger. “It’s only 65 steps, I’m sure even you’re capable of such a feat.”

Merlin shoved Arthur back, and they had a short tussle that left them both laughing before Arthur bodily turned him toward the bottom step and nudged him forward.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” he murmured, slightly breathless from laughter.

“We’re lucky,” Arthur said as Merlin started ascending, “we got here early so there shouldn’t really be many people here yet.”

“I don’t see anyone,” Merlin said, looking around in case he missed someone.

“I meant at the top, where the fort is.”

“Ah,” Merlin said, shrugging. “You know I’ve seen loads of ruins back home. I’m not sure why you’re bringing me to see more.”

“Not appreciative of history, hm?” Arthur asked. Merlin shrugged again.

They climbed for a few moments in silence, until Merlin’s sandal caught on an uneven bit of stone and he stumbled. His heart jumped, and he flailed his arms out to try and balance himself.

“Careful,” Arthur warned.

“Yeah that warning came a bit late, mate,” Merlin said. “But you’d catch me if I fell, yeah?”

“Not on your life,” Arthur laughed. “I’d step aside and watch you roll down to the bottom.”

“Some gentleman,” Merlin grumbled.

“Who was it that saved your sorry life yesterday?” Arthur asked. Merlin grinned back at him with a shrug of one shoulder.

“It was very much appreciated,” he said. “I really should do something for you to thank you for that.”

“You don’t need to do anything,” Arthur objected. “I was happy to help. Besides, you bought me ice cream yesterday. And lunch.”

Merlin laughed. “If you think that makes us even…” he said.

Arthur made an affirmative noise. “I do.”

The remaining trip to the top passed peacefully, except for Merlin’s heaving breath after about the 40th step. Silently he promised himself he’d work on his fitness when he got back home, it was embarrassing to get out of breath from climbing stairs. At least Arthur wasn’t mocking him about it. He seemed fine, though, and Merlin frowned at him sourly when he turned around and saw Arthur climb the final step looking as though he were some sort of menswear model in an outdoor photo shoot.

It really was quite unfair for anyone to be that hot and at ease in their own skin. Right now the only hot Merlin felt was the sweaty sort. He surreptitiously wiped away a bead of sweat at his temple and gave up trying to pretend he wasn’t winded, bending at the waist to rest his elbows on his thighs.

“Welcome to Fort Fincastle,” Arthur said with a sweep of his arm like a television presenter as Merlin stayed bent over to catch his breath. “It has one of the best views on the island.” With a boyish smile, Arthur grabbed Merlin’s hand and led him toward higher ground, around the aging walls of the fortress and the rusting cannons, through the grass toward a spot that overlooked the harbour. Merlin could see all the way back to Paradise Island. It was certainly a lovely view.

“Wow,” he said softly.

“Like I said, it’s my favourite spot on the island,” Arthur said, leaning against the low stone wall next to Merlin, knocking his shoulder against Merlin’s.

“For the view?” Merlin asked.

“And the history,” Arthur said, nodding. “Loads of pirate stuff. The governor of Nassau built this fort back in the late 18th century to protect against pirates, but by then piracy was something of a dying art. The golden age of piracy ended in the 1730s, so Fort Fincastle was never used for its intended purpose. I think the governor just wanted to say he built a fort on the tallest hill in Nassau, to brag to the King or somesuch. Hey, did you know that pirates basically had a form of gay marriage back in the 18th century? Something called matelotage.”

Merlin raised his eyebrows. If he wasn’t relatively certain that Arthur was straight — Merlin wasn’t under any illusions that he would have a snowball’s chance in hell with someone that ridiculously good looking — he would have pressed his luck with him. “Gay pirates, huh?”

“I mean it wasn’t completely about that at first. It started as an agreement between two pirates that if one died the other would inherit his share of the spoils. But there’s evidence that there were some couples that used it to sort of legitimise their relationship. Very progressive for the time, don’t you think?” Arthur explained with a wistful smile. 

“Nerd,” Merlin laughed. Arthur shrugged, smile widening into an unwavering grin.

“All part of my charm,” he said.

“Uh huh,” Merlin said, fighting for a bored tone. “I feel for the pirates, though. We were repressed by the English, too,” he added. “So I know how they must have felt.”

“Going to turn to piracy then, Merlin?” Arthur laughed. “Put us English in our place?”

“You know a lot about Nassau, huh?” Merlin changed the subject rather than answering Arthur’s question.

“Yeah,” Arthur said. “My family comes here every Christmas.” At that revelation Merlin pulled a face. Arthur nudged him with his shoulder again when he saw it. “What?”

“Nothing,” Merlin said. “Just, that’s probably one of the most posh things I’ve ever heard.”

Arthur frowned at Merlin for a moment, and Merlin was afraid he’d offended him until Arthur rolled his eyes. “Well you’re here too, aren’t you?”

Merlin laughed, and shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, but it’s kind of against my will.”

Arthur huffed a soft laugh. “My how awful, being kidnapped to the Bahamas for Christmas hols. Shall I alert the police?”

“Absolutely, it’s been torture!” Merlin exclaimed. “Look at this!” He swept an arm out to encompass the view around them. “Might as well be waterboarded.”

“I can see that,” Arthur said dryly, shaking his head.

“I’ll admit I went into this whole thing with a bad attitude from the start,” Merlin said. “But it’s just sort of weird to me how people prefer to go someplace warm and completely not-Christmas-like. I would have preferred going someplace snowy, maybe in the mountains in Norway or Switzerland. A cabin with a fireplace to curl up next to with a hot drink. Something cosy, you know?”

“You’re going to weep in despair when I tell you about the population of poor Australia and how they suffer because their Christmas falls in the middle of summer,” Arthur deadpanned. Merlin chuckled, blushing.

“I didn’t say it was for everyone. I know I’m kind of a walking cliché, but that’s just how I’ve always pictured Christmas.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts, and turned away from the panorama to look back toward the centre of the fort.

“Yeah, I get it. I sort of wish I could have that as well, but my father prefers to stay away from the overbearingly Christmas-feeling atmosphere as much as he can. Has done for as long as I can remember. So we come here. It gets decorated, as you can see in the streets, but it doesn’t look as though Father Christmas vomited holiday spirit all over everything the way it does back home.” Arthur’s voice sounded wistful, and Merlin glanced over at him from the corner of his eye. There was a pain there he didn’t know if he was supposed to see, so he pretended he didn't.

“Maybe next year you can take your own holiday to someplace more wintery,” Merlin suggested.

“Yes, perhaps. Be a bit lonely, though, considering I’m single and my family would probably still come here.” Arthur hooked his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans, and Merlin had a sneaking suspicion that Arthur not-so-subtly dropping the fact that he was single after a five-minute diatribe on how pirates had a version of gay marriage was his way of making Merlin aware that he was interested. Merlin’s stomach fluttered with butterflies, and he bit his lip trying to hold back a pleased smile.

“A lot can happen in a year,” Merlin said.

“My father suddenly overcoming his discomfort with a wintery Christmas is probably not in the cards,” Arthur shrugged.

“Who’s to say you’ll be single in a year is what I meant, clotpole,” Merlin said with a roll of his eyes. He realised he’d been rolling his eyes a lot since he’d met Arthur. Usually it would be something he’d overthink, but he let himself enjoy the verbal sparring between two unattached people who met on holiday without giving it any additional meaning.

Besides, even if Arthur said a lot of eye roll-worthy things, he was still fit as fuck.

“Anything is possible,” Arthur said, but he sounded sceptical. “But I think it’s best to just stick to the standard until circumstances change.”

“Boring,” Merlin teased. Arthur pouted.

“I’ll show you boring,” he said in a firm voice that brooked no argument, grabbing Merlin’s hand again to tug him away from the wall.

“That wasn’t a challenge,” Merlin said in objection, but didn’t try to pull away as Arthur led him toward the fort proper.

***

“You hungry?” Arthur finally asked after a stretch of time where they leisurely walked around the grounds of the fort, reading the historical information to each other. Arthur had been chatty at first, telling Merlin everything he could think of about the history of the fort, and of pirates in Nassau in general, and the two of them had messed around like schoolboys in the prison cells where pirates once were held, affecting awful accents and pretending to be captured pirates bent on escape and revenge. Eventually, they had fallen into a companionable silence as they walked laps around the grounds, avoiding the souvenir stands and as many of the tourists as they could. He held up the bag Merlin had asked about earlier. “I brought food.”

Realising he hadn’t eaten since the pastry and coffee earlier that morning, Merlin nodded. The sun was high overhead, it had been several hours since he and Arthur had met up and they’d been doing a lot of walking. Merlin had worked up a good appetite.

“Starving, ta,” he said with a grin.

“Great,” Arthur said, leading them over to a flat, grassy area near a tree so he could spread out a blanket for them to sit on. It was all very romantic, and Merlin felt as though he was being taken on a particularly sappy first date. He didn’t mind, though, and didn’t say anything about it in case Arthur didn’t mean anything by it. The last thing he wanted was to make things awkward by opening his mouth. He was having a good time and didn’t want to ruin it.

“You thought of everything, huh?” Merlin asked as he kicked his sandals off and sat down next to Arthur, who was pulling food out of the bag.

“Tried to,” Arthur said. “Hope you aren’t allergic to anything. I brought sandwiches and crisps. And the water we’ve been drinking.” He held up two paper-wrapped sandwiches and did a little flourish with them as if he were preparing to juggle them, making Merlin laugh.

“Fancy,” Merlin teased, taking a sandwich and peeking inside the paper, finding a crusty baguette inside that smelled freshly baked. “I’m actually a vegetarian, so hopefully you won’t be offended when I peel the meat off this.”

Arthur shrugged with an easy grin. He was so handsome, Merlin almost felt as though he was living someone else’s reality, or dreaming. There’s no way he’d be able to pull a guy like Arthur in real life, yet somehow here he was. “It’s not like I made them, so do what you must. I think they’re bacon and brie with some sort of greens.”

Merlin took the top off his sandwich and sure enough confirmed Arthur’s words. “I like brie, so it’ll be fine,” he said as he took the bacon off and offered it to Arthur, who opened his own sandwich to accept.

The two of them ate in silence for a few minutes, until Arthur withdrew a bag of crisps that Merlin tore into with gusto.

“For such a skinny thing, you sure can eat,” Arthur laughed. Merlin glared at him without heat.

“Not skinny,” he said, poking Arthur’s arm, “lithe.”

“Sure, whatever you want to call it,” Arthur said. “So what is your bony, lithe arse doing when it’s not devouring crisps or drowning in rip tides in the Bahamas?” he asked. Merlin felt his face heat up with embarrassment over the memory of the previous afternoon.

“Shut up about that already,” he said, making Arthur laugh. It was a nice laugh, even if it was at Merlin’s expense. “I told you yesterday I was in medical school back home.”

“Mm yes you did,” Arthur said as he stole a crisp from the bag. Merlin playfully swatted at his hand. “But you must have hobbies. A girlfriend, dates. A life outside of school.”

Merlin took a long drink from his water bottle, feeling his grudge against Gilli rise up in him again at the thought of dates and significant others. He knew he had a scowl on his face, and Arthur confirmed it when he spoke again.

“Oh I’m sensing a story coming,” he joked. Merlin laughed sarcastically.

“I had a boyfriend until about three weeks ago,” he said, staring into the crisp bag as if it held the secrets of the universe. He felt Arthur stiffen next to him, and slowly looked up prepared to see disgust in his face and relaxing when instead he saw interest.

“Must have been some break-up to make you pull a face like that,” Arthur said. Merlin laughed a little more genuinely.

“I don’t even miss him is the thing!” he exclaimed, smiling at Arthur’s confused expression. He hadn’t meant to say it, but once it was out of his mouth he realised it was the truth. His ‘broken heart’ was more wounded pride rather than true regret over things ending, and recognising that made him feel free from the need he put on himself to mourn the relationship. He sighed, and lay back on the blanket to watch the clouds drift by. “Don’t get me wrong, I liked him well enough. We were okay together even if I didn’t really see myself settling down with him long-term. But I’m really angry that he broke up with me a few days after I bought him a very expensive Christmas gift that I can’t return.”

Arthur snorted, then looked immediately contrite. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” he said.

Merlin shrugged with a grin, rolling onto his side to face Arthur and propping himself up on his elbow. “It’s fine, it’s kind of funny now that I actually think about it.”

“What did you get him?” Arthur asked.

“I spent the past six months looking for a first edition of Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and stumbled across one in a used bookstore last month by accident,” Merlin said with a half shrug. “Gilli is a literature student, said he wanted to start a collection of first editions. When I told him about the gift after he broke up with me, he said he doesn’t even like Stevenson, and if I had been paying any attention to him at all I would have known that. I guess it was part of why he broke up with me.” Merlin frowned and stared down at the grass next to the blanket, plucking a blade and rolling it between his fingers. “I didn’t think I was an inattentive boyfriend. I just… I’m in medical school, I study a lot. And I tried. I thought it was enough. Guess I was wrong.”

Arthur reached over to put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder. Merlin looked up and offered him a weak smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

“It’s fine,” Arthur said. “Your ex sounds like an arsehole, though.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Merlin said. “Neither of us was perfect.”

“Expecting perfection in a partner is an exercise in futility, Merlin, and a good way to ruin a relationship, take it from someone who knows,” Arthur said. “It really does sound like you tried, and that should count for a lot. If someone like this Gilli arse can’t appreciate that, then he didn’t deserve you.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Merlin repeated, before laughing. “Thanks Mister Relationship Guru. But now I have a first edition of Kidnapped that’s going to be sitting around gathering dust. The secondhand shop doesn’t do returns, all sales are final. I like reading just fine but literature isn’t really my thing, medicine is. Everyone in my family is in the medical field. My best mate is a bartender who barely passed his GSCEs. I don’t really know who else I would give it to. Maybe I should just sell it online.”

“Hang onto it,” Arthur said, pulling his hand back and picking at the bread of the last bit of his sandwich. “It’s a great find, even if you didn’t realise it at the time. I’ve been looking for a copy of it myself for ages.”

“Really?” Merlin asked.

“Yeah,” Arthur said. “It was my mum’s favourite book, and I thought having a rare copy would make me feel closer to her.”

Merlin didn’t want to ask the obvious question, just in case it was a sore spot, but Arthur must have seen the question written all over his face anyway.

“She died when I was little. One of my favourite memories of her was listening to her read that book out loud when I was falling asleep. I didn’t understand much of the story, but I loved hearing her try to do the characters. After she died I would read it over and over again, trying to regain that feeling of… home. It’s what started my interest in pirates, I think.”

“That sounds like a lovely memory, Arthur,” Merlin said softly. He gave Arthur a crooked grin. “Now I feel like I absolutely must give you my copy.”

“Don’t you dare,” Arthur said with a sharp laugh. “We’ve only known each other for a day, that’s a far too extravagant gift to give someone who’s practically a stranger.”

“I’ll ask again in a few days, then,” Merlin said, teasing. “By then we’ll be best mates, even if you’re a bit of a prat, and you’ll have to accept.”

“You do that, idiot, but you’re going to get the same answer,” Arthur said fondly, before grabbing the crisp bag and shoving a handful into his mouth triumphantly.

“Hey, I was eating those!” Merlin protested loudly, startling a pigeon that was sitting nearby, hoping to be tossed food scraps. Arthur laughed, and Merlin crawled over to the other end of the blanket where Arthur was sitting to try and steal the bag back. Arthur rolled away, holding the crisp bag aloft, and Merlin lunged, draping himself half over Arthur’s torso as he reached for it. The two of them wrestled, and crisps flew everywhere as their laughter echoed across the hilltop. The blanket beneath them bunched up, tangling around their legs.

Eventually, Merlin was able to pin Arthur down to the grass by his wrists, grinning down at the flushed red face of his adversary fondly.

“You have crisps in your hair,” he said, breathless with exertion and something else he hesitated to name.

“You do as well,” Arthur said as he smiled up at Merlin, the sun reflecting off his sunglasses.

Merlin let one of Arthur’s wrists go to pick a large bit out of Arthur’s hair before smoothing his fingertips along Arthur’s forehead, tracing his hairline gently down to his ear. He slowly removed Arthur’s aviators, tossing them onto the forgotten bag that had carried their lunch, and looked down into Arthur’s eyes. This close they were breathtaking, bluer than the ocean that spread out ahead of them. Their chests were heaving practically in time with each other, and Merlin bit his lip as he pulled his hand away from Arthur’s face. Suddenly, the world went topsy-turvy and Merlin found himself on his back looking up at Arthur. Before he could say anything, Arthur pulled off Merlin’s sunglasses and dropped them next to his head, then leaned down and kissed him. The salt and oil from the crisps flavoured the kiss in such a perfect way that Merlin gasped into it, pressing up hard against Arthur's lips.

Merlin parted his lips, and Arthur’s tongue dipped into his mouth to caress against Merlin’s. They both moaned into each other’s mouths softly as their tongues slid together. Arthur tasted of crisps and a faint hint of bacon that didn’t put Merlin off as much as he thought it might have. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and looped an arm around Arthur’s neck. He bit Arthur’s lower lip, tugging it gently before sucking it into his mouth and tracing the fullness of it with his tongue. Arthur gasped, and rolled his hips against Merlin’s, slipping his knee between Merlin’s thighs. Merlin wanted to rut against that leg, to hump Arthur like a teenager snogging for the first time on his parents’ sofa, but something in the back of his mind reminded him that he was in public and wearing loose shorts that would not hide anything if he got a full erection.

Arthur must have had the same thought because he pulled away a few seconds later, staring down at Merlin and looking perfectly wrecked. His hair was mussed, his pupils dilated, colour high on his cheeks. They were both panting as if they’d run up the Queen’s Staircase again. Merlin bit his lip and lifted a hand to brush another stray crisp from Arthur’s hair as an excuse to thread his fingers through the silky bulk of it. It was sun-warmed and soft, and smelled of a mixture of cologne and shampoo. Merlin tugged at it gently, trying to urge Arthur back down to kiss him again.

“Fuck, Merlin,” Arthur groaned instead of doing as Merlin wanted, pushing himself up to sit while trying to straighten his clothing. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Merlin, even while he put a bit of space between the two of them. Merlin let go of Arthur’s hair and let himself fall backward back into the grass as he stared at the sky, trying to make himself believe that he’d just been allowed to snog the hottest man he’d ever met. That said hot man currently looked as though he wanted to eat him alive. Merlin’s half-hard cock twitched, and he sighed in a long gust.

“Why are you so fucking fit?” he asked helplessly to the sky. Next to him, Arthur let out a startled laugh.

“Clean living,” he joked as he made a cursory attempt to straighten his clothes.

“You’re gay?” Merlin asked again to the sky, feeling as though he’d lost the plot somewhere along the line. He supposed the whole thing about gay pirates at the beginning of this amateur tour should have clued him in, but he was still left feeling blindsided by the whole thing.

“I’ve been sending you signals since yesterday, Merlin,” Arthur said incredulously. “Are you really that thick?”

“Guess I am,” Merlin said with a shrug. Wow. The world’s hottest man and he actually stood a chance at pulling him. Maybe this would be the best holiday ever instead of the worst.

“Want to go back to my hotel and continue this?” Arthur asked, trailing a teasing finger along Merlin’s arm lightly enough to raise goosebumps. Merlin shivered. “That way we don’t scandalise the tourists. Well, any more than we already have.”

Merlin craned his neck up just enough to look around, and sure enough there was a woman glaring daggers at them about five metres away. He groaned and let his head fall back with a thump. “Great, I’m going to be arrested in the Bahamas for public indecency,” he muttered, trying to subtly adjust himself to hide any telltale tent in his shorts.

“No you won’t,” Arthur said as he stood, offering a hand to Merlin. “We’ll take our indecency somewhere private instead.”

Merlin stared up at Arthur, at his confident grin and sun-kissed hair. He found himself smiling back at him. “You think I’m that easy, huh?” he joked as he took Arthur’s hand and allowed him to haul him up to his feet. “That I’m just going to say yes to your charming smile?”

“Well—” Arthur said, but Merlin put a hand over his mouth to silence him.

“Fuck yeah I am, let’s go,” he grinned, moving his hand from Arthur’s mouth down to his chest, then further to cup his groin and squeezing teasingly for the briefest moment before bending over to start collecting the blanket and discarded bits from their lunch. He made sure his arse was in Arthur’s line of sight, and was rewarded with a soft whine.

“You’re a fucking tease, Merlin,” Arthur said as he picked up the bag and shoved the items Merlin had gathered roughly into it.

“You’re into it,” Merlin said, a bit giddy in the wake of his id realising it didn’t have to be as tightly reined in since Arthur was indisputably interested. He shook the crumbs out of the blanket for the birds to eat and handed it back to Arthur, leaning in to steal a kiss from the corner of his mouth. “Admit it.”

“God, yes,” Arthur muttered, shoving the blanket back into his bag without even taking the time to fold it up first. He took Merlin’s hand and walked with urgency back toward the Queen’s staircase. Merlin heard him mutter, “There’d better be a taxi available right the fuck now,” and started to laugh.

***

The ride back to Paradise Island was tense in a pleasant way, filled with expectation and barely-brushing hands. Merlin was desperately grateful that the friendly taxi driver seemed none the wiser to the sexual tension that could be cut with a knife in the back seat of his cab. Merlin kept glancing over at Arthur from the corner of his eye, only to find him glancing back with an almost constipated expression that Merlin took to be Arthur’s ‘holding it together, but only just’ face. It was ridiculously endearing. Merlin couldn’t help but smile a bit wider each time their eyes met.

“We’re almost there,” Arthur whispered after they finally crossed the bridge to Paradise Island and drove through the streets lined with resorts and tourist spots, and Merlin watched the scenery go by not out of interest but as a way to try and keep his heart from jumping out of his chest in the excitement of the situation. He had never had a holiday fling before, it was sort of exciting.

Eventually, the cab took them to the edge of the island, to the beaches where all the most expensive resorts were located. Merlin had been by there the day before, in his quest to find someplace to swim and instead nearly drowning. He wasn’t that shocked, though. The way Arthur spoke, his intonation and accent, told Merlin that he came from money and breeding, and of course someone like that wouldn’t have been staying in an off-beach resort the way he and his family were.

 _It’s a nice resort, though,_ he argued defensively against his own thoughts. But as they approached the Ocean Club, the hotel Merlin had wanted to visit the other day but hadn’t had the nerve to even go into the lobby for fear he’d be chucked out for being too poor to darken their doorway, Merlin felt his heart rate kick up another notch. And when they bypassed the main entrance entirely, heading down a private drive toward the beachfront villas, Merlin swallowed down a panicked internal scream.

Just how rich was Arthur, anyway?!

They’re dropped in front of one of several identical villas and Merlin felt glued to the faux leather seat of the tax as Arthur immediately jumped out of his side to pay the driver. Merlin moved in slow motion as he opened his own door, exiting and looking around in distress at what was quite possibly the poshest hotel he’d ever seen.

“Are you actually James Bond?” he asked faintly as Arthur walked over next to him and took his hand to lead him inside.

“Hm?” he asked. Merlin shook his head.

“Never mind,” he said, trying to will himself into pretending he was taken to ridiculously expensive hotel villas to fuck hot men all the time. Arthur must have sensed his internal panic, because he gave him a wry smile.

“It’s a bit over the top, I know, but my father is used to having the best,” he explained with a shrug.

“It’s fine,” Merlin said as he followed Arthur into the villa, trying not to gape at the opulent surroundings. “Is… your father here right now?” he asked after a moment, wondering if he was about to be subjected to some awkwardly pretentious version of meeting the parents that he had not signed up for with this beach holiday fling. 

“No, he’ll be out until later,” Arthur said. Merlin sighed surreptitiously in relief. The front entrance led straight into an airy seating area, but instead of taking him there Arthur led him to the right, into a room with two beds. “Usually my sister takes this room, since she sometimes brings a friend to keep her company. But she wanted one of the rooms by the pool this time,” Arthur explained blithely, as if such things were normal. Merlin supposed that they were to some people, but he thought those types of people were celebrities that ended up on trashy telly showing off their ridiculously expensive mansions, not random blokes that wanted to fuck him.

“Why on earth were you at a public beach yesterday, if you have all this?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed nearest to the door. Arthur moved to throw a set of sliding doors open that led to a private patio. The fresh ocean breeze ruffled Merlin’s hair as he stared at the back of Arthur’s head, waiting for him to answer.

“It gets to be boring if you’re by yourself all the time,” Arthur said when he turned around to come back to Merlin and sit next to him, running a hand along his thigh. “A private pool is nice, but if the only person I end up seeing all day is my father or sister, then why bother coming at all?” His fingers ghosted a touch between Merlin’s legs, making the muscles in Merlin’s abdomen tremble as Arthur continued to talk as if he wasn’t making his best effort at seducing him. “Besides, I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t have got bored.”

“You honestly don’t seem like the ‘by yourself’ sort of person,” Merlin said, leaning closer to Arthur and into his touch.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Arthur smirked, pushing himself closer to Merlin and leaning in to brush his nose along Merlin’s jaw and behind his ear. Merlin shivered.

“So I’m not about to shag some club-hopping fuckboy?” he asked, pressing his palm against the prominent bulge in Arthur’s jeans with a grin. Arthur pulled back enough to shoot Merlin an offended look.

“I do not look like a fuckboy,” he objected, nipping at Merlin’s ear just sharply enough to draw a gasp through his laughter. “Clubs are more my sister’s scene, and I’m not that keen on watching her hold court with all the straight boys looking to bag her.”

“Clubbing with your sister would probably be weird, yeah,” Merlin agreed before pushing himself up from the bed long enough to straddle Arthur’s thighs, cupping his jaw in both hands. “Let’s stop talking, yeah?” he said, not waiting for Arthur’s answer and kissing him deeply.

They traded kisses back and forth, their hands roaming over each other’s backs. Merlin’s slipped down to Arthur’s hips, while Arthur’s cupped Merlin’s arse as they ground against each other in a slow, exquisite build up of arousal. In the back of Merlin’s mind he wondered if it was entirely a good idea to get involved with someone like Arthur, but that voice was easily silenced by the way Arthur’s tugged Merlin’s lower lip between his teeth, sucking on it before dipping his tongue into Merlin’s mouth to stroke languidly along Merlin’s tongue.

When the kiss parted, Merlin panted and shoved himself off Arthur’s lap, pulling him to his feet and shoving impatiently at Arthur’s polo to expose his well-muscled torso.

“Off, I want to feel you,” he said, stepping back just far enough to shed his own shirt, dropping it carelessly to the floor. Arthur gave Merlin a teasing smirk, his eyebrows quirking upwards as he slowly turned around and pulled his shirt over his head, giving Merlin a prime view of his back muscles working with every movement of Arthur’s arms.

Without taking his eyes from Arthur’s form, Merlin kicked his sandals off and popped the button of his shorts open to shove them down his hips. Arthur was peeling his jeans down his thighs, bending over and showing off the curve of his arse in the most enticing way. He wanted to lean down and bite into the flesh of it as if it were a ripe fruit, to pull his briefs to the side just enough to eat him out as his hips hitched backward against Merlin’s face. Merlin closed his eyes against the sudden wave of dizziness as his cock filled to full hardness in what had to be some sort of record time.

“Stay like that for me,” he murmured as he abandoned his efforts at undressing himself and dropped to his knees behind Arthur to press his hand between Arthur’s thighs, cupping his testicles from behind before pressing his middle finger to Arthur’s taint through his underwear. Arthur let out a shaky breath, and Merlin leaned in to kiss his arse crack through his underwear as he slowly hooked his fingers beneath the waistband and pulled them down to reveal the pale expanse of flesh he wanted to map with his tongue. His arse was much paler than the rest of him, and Merlin smiled. He’d seen a lot of porn where the men clearly tanned themselves nude to eliminate tan lines, and he preferred when it was more natural. Arthur clearly didn’t have time to lie around naked waiting for his skin to become golden all over, and the contrast was somehow very attractive to him.

He left the black briefs at Arthur’s thighs rather than pushing them fully off, taking each arsecheek in his hands and parting them to reveal Arthur’s hole, already fluttering with spasms in anticipation. He flicked his tongue over it to taste, then blew across the damp stripe. Arthur shivered at the sensation, and reached over to the edge of the bed to steady himself. Merlin fluttered his tongue across his hole again, not moving to penetrate him yet, just teasing.

“Do you want to be fucked? Or fuck me?” he asked, kissing Arthur’s hole sloppily as his hands firmly kneaded Arthur’s arse cheeks.

“Anything,” Arthur breathed. “Both. Neither. Whatever you want. Just don’t stop.”

Merlin smiled, humming in agreement as he flicked his tongue over the rim of Arthur’s hole, sealing his lips around it and pressing his tongue against it until it breached him. Arthur clenched around him as he moaned, squeezing the tip of Merlin’s tongue as he wiggled it around as much as he could, before withdrawing and replacing his tongue with his thumb.

“God but your arse is pretty,” he said, slipping his thumb into Arthur’s hole to the first knuckle and tracing the edge of his rim gently to stretch him. “I can’t decide if I want to ride your cock or fuck you like this. You’d look lush all stretched around my dick.”

“Fuck Merlin, you can’t just say shit like that,” Arthur groaned, his hips rolling forward to hump against the duvet at the edge of the bed. Merlin encouraged the movements, kneading the round fullness of Arthur’s arse with his free hand in time with his sinuous thrusts as he continued to finger him with his thumb.

“Are you gonna come like that?” Merlin asked, half teasing. He thought it would be incredibly hot to watch Arthur frot himself to completion against the edge of the bed, but at the same time wanted to put his cock to better use.

Arthur panted harshly, burying his face in the crook of his arm as he visibly reined in his self-control and stilled his movements. “I could, if you don’t decide what you want to do right the fuck now,” he warned. Merlin laughed low and sensual, and saw Arthur react to it with a shiver. Being with this attractive god of a man like this he expected to feel inadequate, but all he felt was powerful and sexy as hell. Arthur’s unbridled reactions to Merlin did things to him that he’d never felt before when he was having sex. He liked it, a lot.

“Do you have condoms and lube?” Merlin asked, replacing his thumb in Arthur’s hole with his index and middle fingers and pumping them in and out slowly. The saliva he had used to ease the way for his tongue was drying and so it was a bit more difficult, so Merlin was careful about not pushing too fast or rough until he knew if Arthur liked that sort of thing. Arthur moaned, clenching around those fingers, and Merlin couldn’t wait to feel that tight head surrounding his cock. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to last, though.

“Nightstand,” Arthur bit out with obvious effort, his knees shaking as he struggled to hold himself up. Merlin pulled his fingers out of Arthur’s arse and helped him up and onto the bed.

“Get comfortable,” Merlin urged before opening the drawer to pull out the unopened box of condoms and sealed bottle of lube with a pump top contained within. He raised an eyebrow at Arthur but didn’t feel it was an appropriate moment to ask if Arthur had bought them for this specifically, or if he’d brought them expecting to fuck his way across the island. Merlin didn’t know which thought was hotter, but he found he didn’t particularly care about the answer to the question just then.

Arthur arranged himself on the bed with a pillow beneath his hips and Merlin broke the seal on the bottle of lube to pump a palmful into his hand and rub it between his hands to warm it before knee walking across the mattress to settle between Arthur’s thighs. He slipped two fingers back into the heat of Arthur’s grasping hole and Arthur pushed back against his hand rhythmically, begging wordlessly for Merlin to fuck him. He took his time, though, wanting to see Arthur fall apart and know he was the reason for it. Arthur’s sounds spilling from his throat were intoxicating, and Merlin leaned down to kiss him, swallowing them greedily as he swept his tongue across Arthur’s lips and into his mouth.

After several long minutes of Merlin fingering Arthur with a teasing sort of slowness he never had the patience for before — ever since he had starting having sex a couple years before he had been more of a get in, get off, get out sort of guy with his partners, since there was always time for more of the same later being young and all — Arthur finally shoved at Merlin’s shoulder to break the kiss with dark eyes and heavy panting.

“I swear to Christ, Merlin, if you don’t get your dick in me right now I’m going to have to take drastic measures,” he growled. Merlin didn’t think it was possible for him to get even more turned on than he already was, but he was proven wrong in that instant as he withdrew his fingers and fumbled for the box of condoms to open it and pull one out to unwrap. He rolled it over his ramrod-hard cock, reaching for the lube to pump more into his palm and slick himself up. Arthur watched his actions from heavily-lidded eyes. He drew his knees up to his chest and hooked his arms behind them to hold them there, spreading himself open for Merlin’s easy access.

“Fuck,” he breathed, before leaning in to take one of Arthur’s legs and drape it over his shoulder as he pressed his cock against Arthur’s slick hole, his heart jackhammering his his chest with exertion and arousal. They moaned together once Merlin was balls deep in Arthur’s arse, his hips flush against the back of Arthur’s thighs.

“Move,” Arthur demanded, and Merlin complied. He couldn’t not do so, even if he wanted to continue teasing Arthur. But the need to come was so great that Merlin found himself doing as Arthur asked without a thought. The headboard bumped the wall with each firm thrust, but neither of them cared about the noise as their skin slapped rhythmically together. Each downward thrust punched a short ‘unh’ sound out of Merlin, and after half a dozen thrusts Arthur wailed and clenched around Merlin as his cock visibly throbbed between them.

“Right there, god keep going,” Arthur panted, and Merlin grit his teeth and aimed for the same spot, wanting to hear Arthur make that noise again and again.

It wasn’t long before Merlin’s balls tightened, drawing up as the knot of pleasure low in his belly tightened.

“I’m gon’ come,” he warned in a hoarse voice, and Arthur reached forward to dig his fingers in Merlin’s hip.

“Yeah, come for me,” he said. Merlin squeezed his eyes shut and pressed himself inside Arthur as deep as he could go before emptying himself with a deep groan in a series of long pulses. He suspected if not for the condom, Arthur would have an embarrassing amount of come leaking out of him as soon as he withdrew. It had been a while since he had sex with anyone other than his right hand, and this orgasm had him shaking with exertion.

As sense slowly returned following release, Merlin was aware of Arthur reaching between them to tug impatiently at his own cock with firm, quick strokes. Merlin straightened up enough to give him some space to bat Arthur’s hand away and replace it with his own, thinking better of it after a moment and pulling out of Arthur to flop down on his belly between Arthur’s thighs and swallow his cock down in one swift motion. He had hardly begun sucking and working his tongue along the length of it before Arthur’s own orgasm overtook him, filling Merlin’s mouth with a burst of salty-warm come that left Merlin moaning again and wondering if it was possible for him to get hard less than five minutes after his first orgasm.

Merlin pulled off Arthur as soon as he felt his cock stop throbbing, and crawled across him to lay in a boneless heap next to him. The condom was still clinging to his dick and he stripped it off to tie the top and looked around for a bin without actually getting up.

“If you give me a minute I’ll take that,” Arthur offered, and Merlin was too tired to refuse.

“Yeah, thanks,” he said with a soft laugh. “I swear I’m not usually this useless after sex. It’s just been a while and that was… really, really good.”

Arthur lifted his head to grin at him. “It was, wasn’t it?” he said with a cheeky lilt to his voice that Merlin wanted to slap out of him. He settled for dumping the used condom on Arthur’s chest instead.

“You certainly have a high opinion of yourself,” he said. Arthur wrinkled his nose and picked the condom up off his chest between two ginger fingers.

“You said it, not me,” he said. Merlin shrugged.

“I take it back, it was eh,” he held up a hand and waved it in a so-so motion.

“Hey!” Arthur said, sounding mildly offended.

Merlin laughed. “I usually want to give credit where it’s due, but I think this time I’ll make an exception. Your head already seems much too big.”

“And here I was thinking about feeding you,” Arthur grumbled, rolling from his back to his side toward the edge of the bed so he could stand up. “Maybe I should kick you out instead.”

“I vote you feed me,” Merlin said with a cheeky grin. Arthur rolled his eyes and shook his head before taking off toward the loo to bin the condom and, Merlin assumed, to get himself cleaned up. Merlin lay there on the ridiculously comfortable bed for a moment before looking around for his shorts. If Arthur was serious about them having dinner together, he figured he should probably let Hunith know not to expect him. He stood and rifled through his pockets, coming away with his mobile.

 **Merlin:** hey mam I’m not going to be around for dinner tonight. I’ll see you for breakfast though

He sent the message, and a few moments later a reply came through.

 **Mam:** Be safe, cariad.  
**Merlin:** I always am

Merlin rolled his eyes fondly at his mother’s protectiveness, and opened WhatsApp for a moment and pulled up his friends’ group chat as he heard the water in the bathroom run and figured Arthur would be a while yet.

 **Merlin:** I am in the poshest hotel room I have ever been or will ever be in  
**Merlin:** It’s not even a hotel room. It’s a villa  
**Merlin:** On the beach  
**Merlin:** It’s that hotel that was in that James Bond film  
**Will:** Which James Bond film?  
**Will:** Never mind, it doesn’t matter  
**Will:** Steal whatever you can so you can put it on ebay  
**Will:** Bring me a souvenir  
**Gwen:** Will!  
**Will:** What?  
**Merlin:** I’m not stealing the soaps and shampoos or the towels or whatever  
**Will:** Why not  
**Gwen:** 🙄  
**Merlin:** I don’t want to make the guy I’m with think I’m a thief, twpsyn  
**Will:** You fucking a rich boy?  
**Merlin:** Might be 😏  
**Freya:** 👀  
**Freya:** Details???  
**Gwen:** ☕️  
**Gwen:** Merlin’s having a holiday romance!!  
**Gwen:** I require the romcom details right tf now  
**Freya:** Spill  
**Freya:** Spill  
**Freya:** Spill  
**Merlin:** Later, I think he’s done in the loo  
**Merlin:** (it’s not a romance tho)  
**Gwen:** I don’t believe you

Arthur emerged as Merlin pointedly ignored his friends and set his mobile on the nightstand. He smiled with a false innocence at him.

“I just let my family know I’m otherwise engaged for dinner,” he said, “in case you changed your mind about kicking me out.” Merlin waggled his eyebrows and Arthur huffed a laugh and threw a wet flannel at him, hitting him in the face. He caught it before it fell into his lap and started wiping his hands, then his dick to clean up the excess lube.

“I’ll let the private chef know we’ll be dining in here,” Arthur said as he picked up his jeans and stepped into them, pulling them up over his hips without first putting on underwear. Merlin’s eyes were glued to Arthur’s form, his teeth worrying at his bottom lip as he tried to rein in his need for this practical stranger in front of him. “Something vegetarian, right?”

“God, I want to eat you through those jeans,” Merlin said instead of a proper answer, blushing crimson when he realised what had come out of his mouth. Arthur was struck speechless for a moment, before a smirk spread across his face.

“Hardly what I would call a decent meal, and definitely not vegetarian, but I’m sure it can be arranged,” he said, striking a deliberately provocative pose against the door frame. Merlin threw himself against the pillows, putting one of them over his face and praying for the sweet release of death.

“Vegetarian would be great, thanks,” he called through the pillow, hoping his muffled voice was understandable enough that he didn’t have to emerge until the embarrassment faded.

“Be back in a mo’,” Arthur said with a laugh, and Merlin groaned again once he heard the bedroom door close as Arthur left. Perhaps he should just leave before he made a bigger fool out of himself than he already had. He was definitely out of his depth here. He considered quickly dressing and just walking out while Arthur was otherwise occupied, but something kept him where he was. The something being the memory of Arthur’s noises and how it had felt when they’d moved together, hot and sweaty and panting and perfect. He wanted to feel that again.

Besides, as posh as Arthur was, he was also very fun to be around. The previous afternoon, and that morning’s date, or whatever it was, were some of the most fun times Merlin had in a long time. He figured he had nothing to lose by sticking around a while. It’s not like they had to see each other again if they didn’t want to. It was practically perfect, a fit bloke to fuck on holiday with no strings attached.

Arthur returned a few minutes later to find Merlin starfishing on top of the duvet, the pillow he’d used to cover his face flung to the side.

“A private in-room meal for two has been arranged,” he said in his best pompous voice with an exaggerated bow. “The chef said vegetarian is no problem, I’m sure he’ll prepare something appropriate,” he said as he sat down next to Merlin, looking at him with an indulgent smile.

“But of course, I would expect nothing less,” Merlin said, affecting a posh tone and accent to tease Arthur. “I could get used to this, I think,” he added in his own voice. He practically began to purr when Arthur ran a large, warm hand along his flank, gently stroking him as if he were a cat.

“You should probably make yourself presentable so the chef doesn’t get an eyeful of your considerable gifts,” he said with a raised eyebrow. Merlin spread himself wider.

“Are you saying everyone wouldn’t kill to see this?” he asked. Arthur grabbed the discarded pillow and set it over Merlin’s crotch.

“I’m saying that my father may be aware of my preferences, but I would generally prefer he not accidentally hear about what I’ve been getting up to in his absence by overhearing gossip,” Arthur said with a roll of his eyes. Merlin sat up, holding the pillow in place over his dick.

“Oh please, I’m sure part of the price you pay for something this…” he flung an arm around to indicate the everything-ness of his surroundings, “ _this_ , is to ensure the discretion of staff.”

Arthur shrugged. “Not everyone can be counted upon,” he said.

“I feel like there’s a story behind that, but I won’t ask,” Merlin said, setting the pillow back on the bed and standing to retrieve his clothing.

“I appreciate that,” Arthur said, sounding relieved. Merlin was intensely curious, but let it go as he shoved his legs into his shorts to make himself decent.

“You owe me some spectacular sex to make up for my lack of noisness, though,” Merlin said. Arthur laughed.

“That can definitely be arranged.”

***

Merlin woke later with a start, not realising he had dozed off. He and Arthur had fucked twice more after their meal, the most elaborate vegetable dish Merlin had ever had the pleasure of staring at. He almost wanted to break his vow of never becoming one of those people and taking a photograph of his plate to share with his friends.

He turned his head to look over at Arthur who was sitting up against the headboard next to him, staring at his phone. He hadn’t noticed Merlin was awake yet.

“Sorry for falling asleep,” he murmured, his voice thick. “What time is it?” He rubbed at his eyes and sat up, wincing at the feel of dried come on his stomach. He picked at a small section of it with one fingernail, making a face as it flaked off. Unfortunately a vast majority of the spend had landed in the dark hair between his navel and groin, gluing it to his skin uncomfortably. He left that alone until he could clean it off properly with soap and water.

“It’s fine, that last round was fairly tiring,” Arthur said, shutting his phone screen off and setting it on the nightstand. “It’s half past ten. Sleep well?”

“Pretty good, yeah. Better than the bed at my hotel,” Merlin said, wincing at the memory of the hard sofa bed mattress. It wasn’t the worst place he’d slept, but it was certainly not even in the same universe as Arthur’s hotel villa bed. “I need to clean up, though. I feel pretty disgusting.”

“Ah yes, sorry about that. I meant to clean us up but I fell asleep for a while as well,” Arthur said with a wince. “By the time I woke up and got myself cleaned up, I didn’t want to disturb you by cleaning you up. It was already dried by then.”

“It’s fine,” Merlin said. “Point me to the loo and I’ll tidy up.”

“Through that door,” Arthur said, pointing to the left. Merlin smiled in thanks at him and stood, stretching with a jaw-cracking yawn. He padded across the marble floor and into the bathroom, wincing against the light. His reflection stared back at him, showing a dire case of bedhead and several love bites peppered across his collarbones. He smirked, then turned on the sink tap to warm up the water and grabbed the nearest flannel and bar of complementary soap.

“You want to go swimming?” Arthur asked from the bedroom. Merlin thought for a moment, then shrugged. He hadn’t brought his swim trunks, but he could always just use his pants. When else was he going to have a chance to swim in a private infinity pool, after all?

“Yeah okay,” he called back as he rinsed off the soap and patted dry with a towel. Arthur popped his head through the bathroom door with a grin, and tossed his pants and shorts at him. Merlin caught them half by instinct before he realised what had happened.

“Put these on and follow me,” Arthur said. Merlin quickly shoved his legs into his underwear then his shorts, and did as he was told. They paused at the door to the bedroom, before exiting into the hallway and practically tiptoeing through the dark villa.

“Come on,” Arthur whispered as he led Merlin through the common area toward the sliding doors that exited to the pool and the private beach. “But be quiet. My sister is probably still out at some club, but my father retires early.”

“ _My father retires early_ ,” Merlin mimicked in his quietest voice. “Alright then, Posh Spice.”

“Shh!” Arthur hissed. He slid the door open and slipped through, waiting for Merlin to follow before shutting it softly. There were fresh towels sitting on a table near the deck chairs, and Arthur grabbed two before ushering Merlin around the edge of the infinity pool toward the stairs that led down to the beach.

“I thought we were going swimming?” Merlin asked, gesturing back toward the pool with a jerk of his head. Arthur shook his head.

“The two main bedrooms have doors that open to the pool deck, we’d get caught,” he said. Merlin frowned, looking at the dark waves gently rolling over the sugary sand. He wrapped an arm around his bare torso and shivered as a light breeze gusted by. The night wasn’t cold, not by any means, but the thought of going back into the ocean was daunting. The last time he’d tried, he nearly drowned.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go swimming in the ocean at night?” he asked, trying not to sound as trepidatious as he felt. He wasn’t as successful as he’d hoped, though, since Arthur glanced back at him with a smile.

“Done it a hundred times at least. We’ll be okay,” he said. Merlin wasn’t sure he believed him, but he didn’t stop following him either.

“If you say so,” he said.

Arthur stopped about six metres from the water line, a good distance from the high water mark, and handed a towel to Merlin, spreading his own out and weighting down the top and bottom with his sandals. Merlin mirrored him, laying his own towel next to Arthur’s. When he straightened up, he gulped as he saw the bare curve of Arthur’s arse as Arthur stripped down. Even after they’d had sex three times that afternoon and evening, even though Merlin had thought himself sated for the moment, he still felt his cock give an interested twitch. Arthur turned around, baring himself to Merlin shamelessly, raising his eyebrows when he saw Merlin still had his shorts on.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” he asked. Merlin coughed to try and cover his embarrassment at having been caught staring.

“Huh?” he asked.

 _Real eloquent, Merlin,_ he thought.

“Can’t go swimming in your clothes. Well, at least not very comfortably,” Arthur said, before reaching over to start tugging at the waistband of Merlin’s shorts. Merlin twisted away, laughing a bit nervously.

“You didn’t say we were gonna be skinny dipping though,” he said, his cheeks heating.

“Don’t get shy on me now, Merlin,” Arthur laughed. “Not after that thing you did to me with your tongue…”

“And if you ever want me to do it again, you’ll stop talking about it,” Merlin snapped, before shoving his shorts and pants down defiantly. His cock wasn’t quite half-hard, but it wasn’t as noticeable as it could have been in the cover of darkness. Arthur laughed again, and pulled Merlin close for a kiss, plundering his mouth with his tongue as their mostly-soft cocks pressed against each other and started to fill.

“Come on, trust me. It’ll be fun,” Arthur said after ending the kiss, entwining their fingers and gently urging Merlin closer to the water.

“God help me but I do,” he murmured as he let Arthur drag him, the first hit of seafoam making him yelp. 

“Don’t be such a girl, Merlin,” Arthur teased, drawing him further into the water until they were calf-deep.

“I don’t know her, but something about the way you talk about her tells me your sister would resent you using her gender as an insult,” Merlin said, glaring at Arthur who looked away in what he assumed was embarrassment.

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Arthur finally said, looking back at him with his mouth twisted up in a half grin. Merlin pretended to think about it, tapping his index finger on his chin thoughtfully.

“I don’t know, as the one you’re trying to insult it’ll probably take a pretty good reason for me not to say anything,” he hummed. Arthur pulled him close again, nudging their noses together. The waves pushed at their legs firmly, the tide was definitely coming in, but Arthur held them firm.

“I can be rather persuasive,” Arthur murmured, before darting his tongue out to tease at Merlin’s lower lip. Merlin moaned softly, not even trying to hide how much he wanted Arthur. He ran his hand down Arthur’s arm lightly, taking his hand and guiding it to his hardening cock. Arthur grinned wolfishly at him as he rubbed the heel of his palm against it.

“Persuade me then,” Merlin said breathlessly.

Arthur hummed in agreement before pulling Merlin into deeper water, where they could bob with the waves and cling to each other for support. Arthur stopped when they were chest-deep, and lifted Merlin up, urging him to wrap his legs around his waist. Merlin did so, his cock pressing against the trail of hair on Arthur’s lower belly and feeling Arthur’s cock pressing against the cleft of his arse. The cool water contrasting with their hot bodies made Merlin shiver with a deep want he had never felt before, and as their mouths sloppily came together over and over again in a series of kisses, he knew this would definitely be a holiday he would remember for the rest of his life.

***

Later, the two of them lounged on their towels, lazily touching each other all over as they listened to the crash of the waves on the beach and watched the stars twinkling overhead.

“I know I’m going to have sand in some very uncomfortable places when I try to shower later,” Merlin said as he shifted on his towel to move closer to Arthur, “but I honestly don’t care right now.”

Arthur chuckled. “Yeah, you’re going to be digging sand out of intimate areas for a few days,” he said, turning half on his side to trace patterns around Merlin’s nipples and down his breastbone. Merlin hummed in pleasure and moved closer to try and absorb more of Arthur’s warmth against the cool midnight air. They were quiet for a long while, Arthur toying with Merlin’s nipple until it was pebbled and nearly overstimulated. Merlin didn’t feel the need to initiate anything, he was comfortable the way they were. He ran his toes along the length of Arthur’s calf, up and down in a slow back and forth.

“You might have single-handedly saved what I thought was going to be a pretty shit holiday,” he said finally. “So thanks.”

“My pleasure,” Arthur said, scraping his finger over Merlin’s nipple with one blunt fingernail. Merlin gasped softly at the sensation.

“Mine too,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“Clearly,” Arthur smirked.

They fell silent again for a moment, and Merlin stifled a yawn.

“Want to go back inside?” Arthur asked.

“Soon,” Merlin answered. He rolled over onto his side to face Arthur. “So am I going to get your mobile number at the end of all this?”

“I don’t know, do you think you’ve earned it?” Arthur teased.

“Please, I’ve more than earned it,” Merlin said matter-of-factly. “Prat.”

“Well if you’re going to talk to me like that, then maybe I don’t want you to have my number.” 

Arthur put a wide hand over Merlin’s face and lightly shoved him away. It blocked his eyes and squashed his nose, and was hilarious to Merlin in the moment. He snorted and kicked out, trying to hit Arthur’s shin with his foot but aiming wide and hitting air instead. Arthur guffawed and pulled his hand away from Merlin’s face and moved forward until he was leaning over him the way he had at the fort earlier that day, looking down at him with a fond smile. Merlin smiled back at him, a crooked quirk of his lips.

“It would be a shame to just let this be a holiday fling,” Merlin said after a while of the two of them staring at each other with ridiculously besotted looks. Or at least Merlin felt he looked ridiculously besotted. Arthur looked handsome. “Unless that’s what you’re looking for. But I think we could be friends even if we aren’t neighbors.”

“Please, Merlin, Wales is hardly Siberia,” Arthur said with a roll of his eyes. “Sheep don’t live in Siberia.”

Merlin punched Arthur’s arm. “If you start with sheep shagger jokes, then I’m leaving,” he said. He wasn’t serious, but he hoped Arthur thought he was.

“Aw Merlin, did I insult your first love?” Arthur teased. Merlin pouted up at him.

“I’ve changed my mind, you can keep your bloody number, pen pidyn” he grumbled, and Arthur laughed again.

“Hey, I was joking, yeah?” he said, leaning in to kiss Merlin. Merlin turned his head to the side and let Arthur’s lips hit his cheek instead of his mouth. “Merlin,” he said softly, running those lips across his jaw and down to his neck. “Merlin don’t be mad.”

Merlin shuddered, his resolve fading into nothingness as he tilted his head further to let Arthur get at his neck more easily, and let out a soft moan as he felt Arthur’s tongue trace the taut tendon down to his collarbone.

“You fight dirty,” he said, his words trailing into a soft moan.

“Mmmhmm,” Arthur murmured as he set about distracting them for another half hour.

***

Early the next morning Merlin snuck away from Arthur’s villa after leaving him a note explaining that he had to make an appearance with his family so they didn’t think he had been kidnapped by some nymphomaniac rich kid, along with his mobile number and a postscript saying he’d be waiting for a message from him. On the taxi ride back from the villa to his own hotel he couldn’t stop checking his phone every few seconds even though when he’d gone Arthur had been snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

When he returned to the room he made every attempt to open and close the door quietly enough to not bother anyone, but as he kicked his sandals off by the entrance and stood near the bathroom debating the merits of a shower before falling onto the sofa bed for a few hours’ rest, Merlin’s head snapped up when he heard his mother’s voice.

“Merlin, is that you, cariad?” Hunith asked, sounding half asleep. Merlin clutched a hand over his heart, trying to calm the rush of adrenaline from being caught. He hadn’t felt like this since he was a teenager sneaking out to get drunk on cheap liquor with Will in his parents’ back garden.

“Yeah it’s me mam,” he called over softly as he shucked his sandy shorts and pants off. “Go back to sleep.”

“You’re back late,” she said, shuffling around in her bed as if she were searching for something. “Or early, rather,” her amused voice floated over to him once she settled back. Probably searching for her phone or the alarm clock, then. 

“Uh yeah, sorry,” he said, hoping that would be the end of it. Unfortunately that was not his luck.

“I hope you and your young man were safe,” she said.

“What do you mean?” he asked, playing dumb and hoping she wasn’t implying what he thought she was.

“You’re studying to be a doctor, Merlin, you know what I mean,” Hunith said. Merlin groaned softly. He was very glad in that moment that Gaius was a heavy sleeper.

“Yes, we used condoms,” he said through gritted teeth. “Please stop talking.”

Hunith laughed merrily, and Merlin felt his entire face burn with embarrassment. He had always been close to his mam, but talking about sex with her was just weird. He felt as though he were 12 again and being given _the talk_.

“Go on then, have your shower and come to bed. The sun won’t be up for a couple of hours yet,” she said. Merlin sighed in relief that the worst of it was over.

“Don’t wait up,” he said as he stripped his shirt off, a cascade of sand shaking out of the fabric and from his hair. The poor maids, he’d have to leave a big tip for them.

“Mm, maybe I will if you’re going to have that attitude,” she said with a sleepy laugh. “You and I definitely don’t talk about boys together enough.”

“Mam!” Merlin said, meaning to sound sharp and disapproving but sounding whiny instead. Why did parents enjoy torturing their children so much?

“Yes, yes, get on with it,” she said. “I’m going back to sleep, you big baby. Later you and I can have a talk about just how uncomfortable sex on the beach really is.”

“Night,” Merlin said, relief evident in his voice even as he blushed to the roots of his hair at Hunith’s last statement. He hoped she forgot about that bit later, and he wouldn’t have to recount his tale of sand in his arsecrack. He turned on the shower, and set about removing as much grit from his person as he could manage.

***

When he woke later, it was to the sound of a notification of a message on his mobile. The sun was shining high in the sky, and Hunith and Gaius were bustling around quietly as they got ready for their day. Merlin groaned and groped around blindly near his pillow to try and put his hands on his mobile. He still felt over tired, the reason for which was readily apparent when he cracked an eye open to look at the time display on the screen and saw he had only slept for around 3 hours.

“Are you awake already?” Hunith asked. Merlin groaned and squeezed his eyes shut against the brightness of the day. He hadn’t had anything to drink the night before, but he felt hungover and as if powdered glass had been poured into his eyes. “You’ve got several messages. Seems your young man misses you already,” she said, a teasing twinkle in her eye.

“He’s not my young man,” Merlin groaned again, “he’s just some guy. And I didn’t give him my number.”

“Ah, my mistake then,” Hunith said. “Uncle Gaius and I have already been to eat, we were just about to leave for an island tour. I didn’t want to wake you so we didn’t invite you.”

“I probably would have declined anyway,” Merlin said. Hunith laughed.

“Yes, I figured. Try to get a bit more sleep before you go out exploring,” she said.

“I’m not a baby you know,” Merlin grumbled, though he had no intention of doing anything but what she said.

“Didn’t say you were, cariad,” Hunith said. Merlin could practically hear her eyes rolling.

“Have fun, mam,” Merlin said as he rolled over and buried his head in his pillow.

“Remember to put on sun cream when you go out,” she called as she and Gaius left. Merlin raised a hand to wave her off, yawning so widely his jaw cracked.

He expected to fall back to sleep immediately, but he couldn’t take his mind off his apparently piles of notifications waiting for him. Best he could figure, his WhatsApp group chat got noisy and he was going to open his phone to some idle conversation about whatever Christmas things were happening back home. But other than his friend Gwen asking him how he was enjoying the Bahamas, the chat was quiet. He did have new text messages to read, though.

 **Arthur:** Hope you don’t mind, I put my number in your mobile while you were dozing  
**Arthur:** You were practically begging for it, after all  
**Arthur:** That was a joke, by the way  
**Arthur:** You’re probably asleep right now  
**Arthur:** Did you want to meet up again later?  
**Arthur:** I promise, we don’t have to do any history of pirates tours if you don’t want to  
**Arthur:** Though I for one enjoyed how the last one ended 😉  
**Arthur:** Perhaps we could go check out the water park, though  
**Arthur:** If that was a thing you would be into  
**Arthur:** If not that’s fine as well  
**Arthur:** We could get coffee and go to a public beach  
**Arthur:** Hopefully with 100% less drowning on your part this time  
**Arthur:** I would invite you back to mine, but my sister is nursing a hangover  
**Arthur:** She’s a real bitch when she’s hungover  
**Arthur:** And don’t take this the wrong way but I’m not keen on introducing you to her  
**Arthur:** Trust me when I say it’s not you, it’s her

Merlin bit back a sleepy smile as he read over the string of messages. If he hadn’t met Arthur in person, based on his texting style he would have thought him a more eager golden retriever style person rather than the painfully cool and collected one he showed to the world. He rather liked eager puppy Arthur. He made a quick change to the contact name — so he wouldn’t forget who it was when he got back home, he told himself — and sent a message back.

 **Merlin:** For someone who realises I’m sleeping you sure seem intent on waking me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That wasn’t my intention  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Go back to sleep

Arthur’s messages were returned nearly immediately, and Merlin wondered how much sleep he had got himself. It couldn’t have been much. Something warmed in Merlin at the thought that Arthur was just as excited about the thought of spending time together as he was.

 **Merlin:** I plan to  
**Merlin:** You should as well, you must be exhausted  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m fine  
**Merlin:** Whatever you say, but maybe you could humour me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’ll think about it  
**Merlin:** In any case, as juvenile as it sounds going to a waterpark sounds fun  
**Merlin:** Just give me like three more hours  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** We could have lunch first  
**Merlin:** Ok  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Meet up at the same place as yesterday?  
**Merlin:** I’ll be there  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Great, go get some more sleep  
**Merlin:** Ha ha same to you, idiot

Merlin grinned to himself as he set a quick alarm and put his mobile back down next to his head. His heart was racing in that way it did in the early stages of a new relationship and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get any more sleep with how the butterflies in his stomach were fluttering with anticipation. His eyes kept darting back to his phone to see if Arthur had sent another message that he hadn’t heard the notification for. Eventually, though, the tiredness caught up with him and he dozed back off.

His alarm went off at noon and startled him awake. He felt groggy but much more rested than before, not to mention starving. The last meal he had eaten was in Arthur’s villa more than 12 hours ago, and he regretted sleeping through breakfast even though the rest was sorely needed. Merlin shot off a message to Arthur letting him know he was awake after checking for any missed notifications, then headed to the bathroom to get himself ready. He blinked into the mirror, glad he only felt as though he had been run over and looked mostly fine except for a magnificent case of bed head he knew from loads of experience wouldn’t be able to be tamed without copious amounts of water. He quickly ducked his head under the shower spray to wet it, and spent more time than he normally would have trying to coax his curls into some semblance of order.

“I didn’t even do this for Gilli,” he murmured to his reflection with a shake of his head as he grabbed the hotel-provided hair dryer. “Why didn’t I bring anything other than mousse?”

***

An hour later he jogged up to Arthur who was waiting at the same spot they had met the day before. Had it only been a day and a half since they’d met? It felt like so much longer.

“Sorry I’m late,” Merlin murmured, appreciating the view of Arthur in a gaudy pair of floral Bermuda shorts, a white polo and the same hat and sunglasses he’d worn the day before.

“I’m starting to get used to it,” Arthur said with a grin. “Are you ever on time for anything?” 

Merlin pouted at him. “I’m sorry, some arsehole kept me up late last night and I was exhausted.”

Arthur grinned wider. “Sounds like a fun guy.” He had the same bag as yesterday slung over his shoulder. Merlin Ignored what Arthur had said in favour of pointing at it.

“Pack us another picnic?” he asked.

“Not today,” Arthur said. “Just thought I’d need a towel and a change of clothes. I’m taking you out for lunch, remember?”

“I could get used to being wined and dined,” Merlin said, falling into step next to Arthur.

“Not exactly wined, but the Atlantis Hotel, where the water park is, has the only craft brewery in the Bahamas and I thought it might be fun to check it out and see if it’s any good,” Arthur said, so carefully casual that Merlin suspected he put a lot of thought into his choice of restaurant. “You up for a bit of a walk? Or should I call us a taxi?”

“A walk is fine, and a microbrewery sounds fun,” he said with a carefully casual shrug of his own.

“I checked the menu and they do have some non-meat options, too,” Arthur said. Merlin felt warm at the fact Arthur had remembered his dietary preferences.

“That sounds fantastic,” he said, smiling.

“Just to warn you ahead of time and hopefully cut off the jokes about me being obsessed with pirates, the restaurant’s name is pirate-themed,” Arthur said with a facial expression just daring Merlin to make fun of him. “It’s not the reason I picked it, though.” Merlin smiled, but didn’t laugh.

“So pirates are your thing, there are worse things to be into,” he shrugged. “My first boyfriend was really into MMORPGs. Like unhealthily so.”

“Like the online video games? Ouch. How old were you?” Arthur asked, physically cringing in sympathy. Merlin laughed.

“It didn’t seem so bad at first. But when he blew me off in favour of raids with his guild or whatever, I figured I would always be second in his heart behind a bunch of pixels.” Merlin grimaced. “I was 15 at the time and he was 16, so it’s not as though he was blowing off big dates or anything. But my tiny gay heart was broken that I was less important than a game.”

“When I was that age, I was still pretending I was straight,” Arthur said. “I didn’t come out until a couple of years ago, so I haven’t actually had a serious boyfriend yet.”

“Ah, so I’m just the latest in your holiday flings?” Merlin teased with a wide grin. Arthur glanced over at him with a tinge of a blush on his cheeks.

“You, err, are actually my first holiday fling, as it were,” Arthur said, sounding supremely embarrassed. Merlin’s eyes flew up to his hairline.

“Come again?”

“Later, perhaps,” Arthur shot back, deflecting his obvious discomfort with an attempt at humour. “It’s not like you’re the first person I’ve slept with, so don’t get any thoughts in your head about pitying me or anything. I just do all my ill-advised one night stands back home.”

“Ah yes, you certainly know how to sweet talk a guy,” Merlin said dryly. “Ill-advised indeed.” He wasn’t offended, more amused, but he wanted to see Arthur squirm. “I bet you pull all the boys with chat-up lines like that.”

Arthur spluttered, trying to figure out what to say to save the situation, and Merlin looked at him with his most guileless expression.

“I mean… that’s not what I… what I actually meant was…” Arthur said, and after a few moments of him flailing Merlin finally felt his facade crack and a smile split his face.

“Stop, I was joking. Don’t hurt yourself,” he said with a shake of his head. “How about you tell me about this pirate-themed micro brewery instead.” Arthur gave him a relieved look, and pulled out his phone to bring up the menu online.

***

They ate and chatted more about themselves while the food settled; the whole thing had intense first date vibes — more so even than the trip to the fort Arthur had taken him on — that Merlin couldn’t shake. After, they headed across the massive hotel property from the restaurant to the entrance of the water park.

“Hold my things while I get us the tickets?” Arthur asked, holding out his bag for Merlin to grab. Merlin shrugged, not keen on waiting in queue in the sun.

“I’ll pay you back later for the ticket later,” he said. Arthur waved him off as he jogged to join the queue. To occupy himself as he waited, Merlin opened his phone and took a short video of himself saying, “Guess who’s at a water park, bitches!” and sending it to his friends. About fifteen minutes later Arthur rejoined him with a wrist band he slapped onto Merlin’s wrist and led him through the entrance.

“Do they have lockers or something for our stuff?” he asked.

“We’ll get a cabana,” Arthur answered. Merlin wrinkled his nose.

“Sounds expensive,” he said. Arthur shrugged.

“My treat.”

Merlin scrunched his face even further. “Normally I’d object to the wanton spending of money, but I really want to try out that water slide,” he pointed over to the tallest building in the park, “so I’m going to let it go this time.”

“Just wait until you try to pay me back for the ticket,” Arthur joked, running a hand up Merlin’s back to the nape of his neck and into his hair, messing it up. Merlin swatted his hand away even though the touch felt nice.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, but Arthur was walking away to secure them a private cabana by a pool that had surprisingly few users. He figured most people were queuing for the water slides, since that was what a water park was for.

“Got a cabana,” Arthur said, beckoning Merlin to follow him to a tent-like structure that had cushioned seating, towels and a mini fridge filled with cold bottles of water.

“What did you mean?” he asked again as he dropped his bag and phone underneath one of the chairs. He sat down and began applying more sun cream to appease the nagging of his mother in his head.

“Hm?” Arthur said, opening a bottle of water and downing half of it in one go. Merlin stared at him as he swallowed, before tearing his eyes away to focus on applying SPF. It wouldn’t do for him to pop a boner in a water park. There were children around, and he was wearing somewhat flimsy swim trunks.

“About me trying to pay you back for the ticket,” Merlin clarified.

“Oh, that. Just that I’m not going to accept your money. Just enjoy yourself, that’ll be payment enough for me,” Arthur said.

“No, absolutely not,” Merlin argued. “I can pay my own way, I’m not some sort of sugar baby.”

“You’d make a good one, though,” Arthur smirked.

“And you can fuck all the way off,” Merlin shot back. “I’m paying you back.”

“And I’m politely declining,” Arthur said stubbornly. Merlin opened his mouth to rebut the ‘polite’ bit, but Arthur didn’t let him. “Just buy me dinner or something and we’ll call it even.”

“How much did the ticket cost?” Merlin asked.

Arthur shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It really does,” Merlin said. He had a sneaking suspicion that the ticket was much more expensive than he realised.

“Can you please just let me do this for you?” Arthur asked, frowning. “I’ve always wanted to come here, but my father wasn’t interested and my sister…” he lifted a hand to toy with the ends of his hair that brushed at his neck and curled, “well let’s just say she doesn’t like to get her hair wet in public. I never wanted to go alone, so I just… didn’t.”

“Oh,” Merlin said softly.

“Yeah. So maybe just think of this as you helping me do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. And enjoy yourself.”

Merlin slowly nodded. “I suppose I can do that, as a one-time exception,” he said after a few beats. “As long as you race me on that double slide I saw.”

“Duh,” Arthur said with a laugh. “ We have to do that a few times. They have a timer so we can actually race and figure out who won.”

“Figures you’d be the competitive type,” Merlin muttered. Arthur ignored him.

“There’s also a slide that goes under an aquarium with sharks in it,” he said as if Merlin hadn’t spoken.

Merlin’s eyes widened. “This place sounds amazing.”

“Right? Let’s get going, the lines are long for the good slides,” Arthur said, grabbing Merlin’s hand to lace their fingers together and drag him at a fast clip toward the slides. Merlin squeezed his hand, and Arthur glanced back with a boyish smile that made Merlin’s stomach flip.

The rest of the day the two of them let loose their inner 12-year-olds and went on as many water slides as many times as they could. Merlin’s face hurt from how much he was smiling, and between each slide he and Arthur found excuses to hold each other’s hands. When they made the decision to float down the lazy river — it had rapids, so Merlin wasn’t entirely sure it qualified as “lazy” though — they opted for a two-person inner tube rather than separate ones.

“So we don’t get separated,” Arthur said, and Merlin nodded seriously as he tried to hold back laughter.

“You’re in front, then,” Merlin said, gesturing to the inner tube with his chin. Arthur’s brow furrowed.

“Why me?” he asked.

“There’s a sign. Shorter person up front,” Merlin said, pointing over to a list of rules on a wall next to a stack of inner tubes.

“Excuse me, I am _not_ shorter than you,” Arthur argued.

“You are, though,” Merlin said with a shrug and a wicked grin.

“That cannot possibly be true,” Arthur said, refusing to believe.

“Sorry dear, he’s just a bit taller than you,” an older woman said with a laugh as she passed by with her own solo tube. Arthur spluttered in outrage. Merlin doubled over in laughter. When they had calmed, Arthur settled himself between Merlin’s legs in the front half of their tube, reclining back against Merlin’s lap.

“Huh, this isn’t so bad,” Arthur said. Merlin rolled his eyes.

“You don’t say,” he said, deadpan.

“Shut up, Merlin.”

After the rather exhilarating ride on the lazy river, the two of them returned to their cabana and Merlin pulled out his phone from the safe they had stashed their valuables in while they were away to take a few videos of the park for his friends before they went back to the slides for a last round. Arthur photobombed whenever he possibly could, pulling ridiculous faces and doing stupid dances in the background of the videos when Merlin wasn’t paying attention. Merlin couldn’t bear to delete them, though, so he sent them to his friends anyway and waited for the deluge of questions about who the weird guy was.

He wasn’t disappointed. An hour later he was inundated with questions on WhatsApp in the middle of the dinner Arthur had said he could pay for in exchange for the waterpark tickets.

“What’s with the deluge of notifications?” Arthur eventually asked after several minutes of seemingly-nonstop vibrations that Merlin was doing his best to ignore so he could focus on Arthur and not seem rude.

“It’s nothing,” Merlin said, too quickly judging by the skeptical raise of Arthur’s eyebrow. “My friends are just nosy buggers.”

“Ah,” Arthur said as he took a sip from his beer. When he didn’t ask any further questions, Merlin was relieved, and yet found himself continuing to talk about it.

“I sent them videos of the park a while ago, and now they all want to know who that ‘blond bloke in the background stalking me’ is.” Merlin explained.

“Did you tell them I literally saved your life?” Arthur asked, glancing pointedly at Merlin. “I’m hardly a stalker.”

“They don’t mean it literally,” Merlin said, resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at Arthur. “You’re just in the background of, like, all the videos I took today.”

“Yes I know,” Arthur said, grinning.

“Arse,” Merlin said, shaking his head. They both stared at each other for a breath, then laughed.

“So what do they have for vegetarians here that isn’t a salad,” Arthur mused, picking up his menu to peruse it.

“It’s fine, I like salad,” Merlin said, turning his attention to his own menu.

“Vegetarians,” Arthur said in a disapproving voice. “You don’t have to settle for low-effort service.”

“Yes, well, carnivores rule the world,” Merlin shrugged.

“It’s fine, I’ll make sure you’re fed well,” Arthur replied. Merlin felt his heart skip a beat.

This fling was definitely starting to feel more like dating. And Merlin was being honest with himself, he had to say he kind of liked it.

***

Christmas eve was split between spending enough time with his family so he didn’t feel guilty about leaving them alone on what was supposed to be a family holiday and sneaking around Arthur’s family’s villa having sex on every surface they could get away with. Arthur’s sister and father weren’t around, but the staff that came with the villa were, so the thought of getting caught in the act was thrilling — as long as they didn’t actually get caught.

Christmas day came and went, a low-key affair celebrated with Hunith and Gaius. They spent their day lounging around the room until late morning, then taking a walk along the streets of Paradise Island for one last time before they headed for dinner. They had exchanged gifts before they left home, so it felt even less like Christmas than Merlin had feared it would. Yet he was in good spirits about the entire thing to his mother’s clear surprise. She never remarked on it outright, but Merlin did catch her giving him curious looks as his good mood carried him through the evening.

He didn’t tell her that Arthur had been sending him a running commentary of his own family’s day, and it included a very hungover sister throwing out an overly eager one-night-stand before breakfast.

Merlin was almost sorry that their week in the Bahamas was ending, a feeling that surprised him with its intensity. He told Arthur so via text the next morning as he was throwing things into his suitcase to get ready for their flight home later that afternoon.

 **Merlin:** It feels weird to say, but I’m a little sad the holiday is over  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That is surprising, you were very anti-tropical-holiday when we met  
**Merlin:** Yes well, a week can really change a person  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You’re blaming me, aren’t you  
**Merlin:** Absolutely  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m so very sorry I helped you have a good holiday when you were expecting shit  
**Merlin:** You should be  
**Merlin:** How dare you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I should be drawn and quartered  
**Merlin:** At the very least!  
**Merlin:** But real talk, meeting you might have been the highlight of my holiday  
**Merlin:** And I think I’m going to miss you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You have my mobile number you dolt  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** We can keep talking if you want  
**Merlin:** Huh  
**Merlin:** True  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** We live on the same island, it’s not as though we’re going to be half a world apart  
**Merlin:** Stop making good points  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Only when you stop being an idiot  
**Merlin:** You’re in for a long wait then  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Clearly

“You’re in a good mood,” Hunith said, giving Merlin a significant look before she threw herself bodily onto her suitcase to try and ease the zip closed.

“We’re going home, what’s not to be excited about?” Merlin said as he gave her an alarmed look. “I remember you had enough space for everything on the way out here, how many souvenirs did you buy?!”

“Just a few things for my coworkers,” Hunith said, picking herself up off the overstuffed suitcase with a grunt. “Come sit on this for me, Merlin.”

“I hope there isn’t anything breakable in there,” he said dubiously as he crawled onto the bed then up onto the suitcase to plant his ass directly in the centre.

“It would solve a lot of problems if you just didn’t bring anything back for anyone,” Gauis pointed out, and Merlin nodded in agreement, even though he’d bought something for each of his three best friends that were tucked away in his own luggage amongst the sandy, dirty laundry.

“Just because you don’t care about your friends doesn’t mean I’m the same,” Hunith said tartly. Merlin thought about pointing out that caring about someone doesn’t necessarily mean bringing them back tchotchkes from a tropical island holiday, but decided not to test Hunith’s mood.

“You don’t seem excited about going home,” Merlin said after a few moments of her struggling with the zip, her lips pressed together in a tight line.

“I’m fine,” she said, blowing out a triumphant breath when the suitcase finally shut. Merlin eased himself off and returned to his own packing, checking under the sofa to make sure he wasn’t leaving anything behind.

“You don’t seem fine, mam,” he said carefully watching his mother’s shoulder’s hunch up defensively. After a moment, she dropped them.

“I know, it’s just…” she trailed off and bustled over to the desk to tidy it up. “It’s lovely here, and I wish we had more time. It was lovely to be away from home and work like this and I suppose I’m just not ready to go back to real life.”

Merlin thought back to his last lingering kisses with Arthur, who was staying in the Bahamas for several more days yet and found himself nodding.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Hunith smiled at him, and Merlin found himself smiling back.

“It’s a shame I didn’t get a chance to meet your young man,” she said. Merlin’s face coloured.

“I keep telling you, he’s not mine. He’s just…” He thought about the text conversation he just had with Arthur, about how they didn’t have to lose touch if they didn’t want to. “I guess he’s just a friend, now.”

“That sounds nice, cariad,” Hunith said with a gentle smile. “I’m glad you ended up having a good time after all.”

“Yeah, me too,” Merlin said.

“Now if you don’t hurry, we’re going to miss our flight home. Go go go,” she shooed him along, and Merlin snorted as he shoved his sandals into the front pocket of his bag. He was dressed in his too-warm-for-the-Bahamas outfit once more, knowing he would regret it dearly if he tried to travel in his holiday clothing. He didn’t fancy freezing his bollocks off on the drive home from London.

As he finished gathering his things, his mobile buzzed on the side table where he’d placed it to help Hunith. He picked it up, smiling when he saw another message from Arthur.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Let me know when you get home  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** So I know you’re safe

He tapped out an agreement, then hoisted his carry-on bag over his shoulder.

“You guys ready?”


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin had been back home nearly two weeks, and had been low-key constantly exchanging messages with Arthur. He almost talked to Arthur more than he talked in the group chat with his friends. It had started somewhat tentatively, once Merlin had informed Arthur of his safe touchdown on British soil, with Merlin mentioning that he was still finding sand in his belongings even after having washed everything and Arthur joking that once you’ve been to the beach, you can never escape, the two of them posting memes back and forth, and other things you might send to a casual acquaintance rather than a lifelong friend. Before long, though, it evolved to something a bit deeper.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Is it normal to hate a job you haven’t even started yet?  
**Merlin:** Like just the idea of it?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That and the job itself  
**Merlin:** It seems like you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself with preemptively hating something like that  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’ve always been advanced  
**Merlin:** You’ve always been arrogant^  
**Merlin:** Fixed it for you  
**Merlin:** Your spelling is atrocious, I can’t believe you messed that up  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Knew I could count on you to make me feel better about myself  
**Merlin:** I live to serve

***

 **Merlin:** my exams are coming up at the end of the month and I don’t know if I’m going to pass  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Something tells me you’re just being nervous for the sake of being nervous  
**Merlin:** Have you met me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You didn’t strike me as the timid type  
**Merlin:** you can be nervous without being timid  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You argued with me over taking you to hospital when you nearly drowned because of your supposed medical expertise  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I think you’re going to be fine  
**Merlin:** but what if I’m not  
**Merlin:** what if I fail and get kicked out of the programme?  
**Merlin:** then I’ll have to get a job as a rubbish collector  
**Merlin:** my mother will be so disappointed  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** From what I understand, rubbish collectors make a decent living  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That aside, you’re going to be fine  
**Merlin:** how do you know  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Call it a hunch  
**Merlin:** are you psychic and trying to figure out how to tell me  
**Merlin:** it’s ok you know, I can handle your secret  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You’re ridiculous  
**Merlin:** 🥺  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Now stop worrying about your exams  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You’re going to do great  
**Merlin:** if you say so  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I do  
**Merlin:** thanks

***

The night before Arthur’s first day at the new job, Merlin was up late finishing up his revising when he heard his mobile vibrate with a notification. He frowned, setting aside his notes and wondering who it could be. Arthur had said goodnight two hours earlier, stating he was going to turn in early for once — and when they had started making it a point to say goodnight to each other, Merlin couldn’t exactly say — and he couldn’t imagine who else would be texting him this late. Which was why he was surprised to see Arthur’s name at the top of the screen. 

**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hey, are you still up?  
**Merlin:** Of course, but what are *you* doing up??  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I can’t sleep. What if I’m rubbish at this job?  
**Merlin:** What if you’re amazing at this job?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well, what if I hate it?  
**Merlin:** What if you love it?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 🙄 Are you always this helpful?  
**Merlin:** What do you want me to say? If you hate it you can leave, it’s not like you signed a contract in blood or something  
**Merlin:** Wait, you didn’t, did you?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** What the hell kind of question is that?  
**Merlin:** I don’t know what the hell you rich people get up to  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** There was no blood although I guess technically there was a contract  
**Merlin:** Hah! I knew it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Shut up, Merlin

Merlin smiled and stood, stretching before he flopped onto his bed. He couldn’t help feeling pleased that he had clearly helped Arthur feel a bit better if he was insulting Merlin. 

**Merlin:** All I’m saying is that you can’t know until you try it, can you? So give it a go and who knows, maybe you’ll love it in time  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I doubt it  
**Merlin:** 😟  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you with this  
**Merlin:** No, I don’t mind, really. I needed the break anyway  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Is it sad that I miss studying?  
**Merlin:** Yes. Very.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😝  
**Merlin:** The universities aren’t going anywhere you know, if you do decide that you hate it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m sure my father would be thrilled about that  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That was sarcasm, in case you missed it  
**Merlin:** Thanks, I hadn’t got that 🙄  
**Merlin:** But it’s not his life, is it? 

Arthur didn’t answer for so long that Merlin thought maybe he had fallen back to sleep. It was past midnight after all, and he was getting tired himself. He switched off his lamp and pulled the duvet over him, settling more comfortably. He watched the screen for another moment and then finally Arthur started typing again. 

**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I guess not  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I should try to get some sleep I guess, sorry to bother you  
**Merlin:** It’s really not a bother, but yes. Sleep is good. I’ll go if you go?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Are you proposing we sleep together?  
**Merlin:** Haha, I guess so  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well, can’t say no to that. Good night then  
**Merlin:** Sleep well

Merlin laid back on his pillow, but didn’t go to sleep right away. He scrolled back and reread some of his and Arthur’s conversations from their time in Nassau, smiling to himself to see the difference between their first texts and now, the way they had relaxed with each other as time went on. When enough time had passed that he was relatively certain Arthur was asleep, he sent a final text wishing him a good first day and asking Arthur to text him after work to let him know how it went. He tucked the mobile under his pillow and snuggled deeper into the duvet, imagining Arthur doing the same in London. 

***

When Merlin woke the next morning, he checked his mobile for a reply from Arthur, but finding none, shrugged and hoped that he’d made it to work on time at least. Throughout the day he checked several more times, hoping Arthur would message him during a coffee break or lunchtime, but his mobile stayed stubbornly quiet. Merlin hadn’t realized how accustomed he’d grown to chatting with Arthur throughout the day until he wasn’t available. Finally when it was after six that evening and he still hadn’t heard anything, he settled for a simple “hope your first day went well! 😄” message, then muted his mobile and turned it over, determined to focus on his revising for a bit instead of anxiously checking for messages from Arthur. 

After an hour he finally let himself check for notifications, and while there was a lively debate in his Whatsapp group chat about the football game that was currently airing, there was nothing from Arthur. Merlin flipped it over again, trying not to let the disappointment sting. 

Merlin had just about convinced himself that this was the end of his and Arthur’s brief friendship, that now that he was so busy and important that their texting would dwindle then eventually stop, when his mobile vibrated. 

**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hey, sorry  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Busy day 

He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to reply, not bothering to play coy. 

**Merlin:** I figured! How was it?

It took a while for a response to come through, but when it did, Merlin frowned. 

**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** A nightmare basically  
**Merlin:** 🙄 Please, I doubt it was that bad  
**Merlin:** What do they even do the first day, besides let you raid the supply cabinet and show you where the bogs are  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Ugh, I wish  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** My father apparently scheduled a board meeting and didn’t tell me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** He made me give a presentation on data I had only gotten an hour before  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Said the only way I’d learn was by jumping in with both feet.  
**Merlin:** Ok, that does sound pretty awful  
**Merlin:** I’m sorry  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Whatever. This is my life now, so I may as well accept it  
**Merlin:** Well, at least you’re not dramatic about it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 🖕  
**Merlin:** Fair  
**Merlin:** Was there anything good about it? Like a fancy espresso machine or a cute admin or something?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** My office is quite nice. The chair especially  
**Merlin:** Let me guess, corner office, view of the river?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well, it’s not a corner, but yes, I can see a bit of the river I suppose  
**Merlin:** I knew it  
**Merlin:** Rich bastard

Merlin waited to see whether Arthur would take a shot back at him, but the message remained read and no typing bubble appeared. He set down his mobile and got back to revising, but half an hour later it vibrated again. 

**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I hate this  
**Merlin:** What?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** The job  
**Merlin:** It’s only been a day! Your father’s just hazing you, I’m sure the next meeting you’ll know about it to be prepared for  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** idk I just can’t see myself ever being good at this job  
**Merlin:** You haven’t even given it a chance  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Now you sound like my father

Merlin’s fingers itched to make a “you can call me Daddy” joke, but he didn’t think that Arthur would appreciate it in his current mood. Instead he bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth as he tried to think of how to reply. 

**Merlin:** Maybe just give it a couple weeks and see how it goes?  
**Merlin:** If it keeps being awful it’s not like you can’t find something else, or go back to school

There was a long pause before Arthur finally replied.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Maybe  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Anyway, I’m turning in early again  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Goodnight, sleep well

He typed out “you too” absentmindedly and couldn’t help but feel like he’d failed his friend. Will would probably crack him over the head for feeling bad that the posh job that Arthur had been handed on a silver platter was making him unhappy but, well… maybe being rich wasn’t all private beach villas and expensive water parks. 

Merlin expected Arthur to grow more withdrawn after that, so he was surprised when the next day Arthur seemed to go back to their previous level of texting throughout the day. Merlin wondered whether Arthur ought to be texting as much as he did during the day, but well — he wasn’t going to tell him to stop. Even if it meant that he got out of his biochemistry lecture to a barrage of texts about the quality of the tea in the pantry (bad) and the new pen he’d been gifted by his father (very good, perhaps the best pen Arthur had ever owned). 

Merlin sent him a photo of his travel mug of tea next to his biro with the gnawed-on end. 

**Merlin:** Better tea, worse pen.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Aren’t there germs all over that biro? Shouldn’t you keep it out of your mouth?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** And you call yourself a medical student  
**Merlin:** Shouldn’t you be working?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Probably

***

 **Merlin:** So I got my final exam results  
**Merlin:** Finally  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** And?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You can’t leave me hanging, here  
**Merlin:** I think I actually could  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well you’re not freaking out, so I’m going to venture a guess and say that you passed like I said you would  
**Merlin:** I want to mess with you but I’m so relieved that I passed that I’m just going to give this to you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Told you so  
**Merlin:** Yeah, yeah  
**Merlin:** (thanks for your faith in me though)  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Same to you  
**Merlin:** ?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** With the job angst I keep heaping on you  
**Merlin:** Oh that  
**Merlin:** I don’t mind, keep it coming  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 🤔  
**Merlin:** Wait that came out wrong  
**Merlin:** I’d prefer it if you were happy in your job  
**Merlin:** But since you’re not, feel free to keep dumping your job angst on me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** So are you going to do anything to celebrate?  
**Merlin:** Well the new term starts next week so I’ll probably end up doing a rousing round of more studying  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Merlin, I know you have friends  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Why don’t you let them take you out?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Get you drunk?  
**Merlin:** I’ll think about it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Don’t just think about it, do it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Maybe you could even get really crazy and get laid  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You know, before your dick falls off from disuse

It stung a little that Arthur had made such a suggestion when it felt like they were flirting off and on pretty much on the daily, but Merlin tamped the feeling down. Arthur was rapidly becoming one of his favourite friends, even if they had started out sleeping together.

 **Merlin:** Please, it hasn’t been that long  
**Merlin:** I could pull a hot dude if I really tried  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** What’s stopping you then  
**Merlin:** I’m not a slag that goes for it with the first guy that bats his eyes at me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That’s not what I remember 😏  
**Merlin:** You should get that faulty memory looked at  
**Merlin:** I’m worried for you mate  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I Will if you promise me you’ll get out for a while

He rolled his eyes, and opened WhatsApp to his group chat.

 **Merlin:** I am being told to let you guys take me out in celebration of my passing exams  
**Will:** Fuck yeah, this is definitely a thing that’s happening  
**Gwen:** I’m in!  
**Freya:** Me too!  
**Will:** Who do we have to thank for tearing you away from revision prison?  
**Merlin:** Nobody you guys know  
**Gwen:** Sounds mysterious 👀  
**Merlin:** So where am I to be dragged, then?  
**Freya:** Don’t think we don’t notice that very obvious attempt at a subject change, mister  
**Freya:** But you’ll be easier to get information out of once you’ve had a drink or three  
**Gwen:** Will’s pub then?  
**Will:** It’s not my pub, I just work there  
**Gwen:** And have such a lovely employee discount 😍  
**Will:** I really ought to get Gwaine to ban you lot, taking advantage like that  
**Freya:** Gwaine loves us, he’d never ban us

As his friends continued to bicker, Merlin switched back to his conversation with Arthur.

 **Merlin:** Going to the pub with some friends where they’re going to attempt to get me utterly pissed  
**Merlin:** I hope you’re pleased with yourself  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Very  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Have fun!  
**Merlin:** Tomorrow’s hangover is going to be named Arthur Pendragon 🙃  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 👍  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do  
**Merlin:** I’m almost afraid to ask where that line is  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😏😏😏

***

 **Merlin:** I wish I was in the Bahamas right now  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Tell me about it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Is it supposed to rain or snow where you are?  
**Merlin:** Rain, probably. What about London?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** They’re saying snow. We’ll see.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Anyway, I thought you said Nassau was too hot and that winter was meant to be cold?  
**Merlin:** I said _Christmas_ was meant to be cold. I’m okay with February being hot.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Has anyone told you you’re difficult to please?  
**Merlin:** That’s not what you said in December 😏  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 🙄  
**Merlin:** 😘

***

Merlin had just come home from the university library and was revising for an upcoming quiz one drizzly late-winter afternoon, the sort of afternoon that holds a glimmer of the promise of spring with all the gloom of the last throes of winter, when his mobile vibrated with an alert. His hands automatically grabbed it from the desk without thinking about it. When he realised what he had done, he smiled wryly at himself. He never used to be so attached to his mobile before Arthur.

_You have been invited to play Wordfeud with KingPendragon_

Merlin stared at the text notification, then followed the included link to download the game. Once a new game with Arthur had been started, he opened the in-game messaging system.

 **BornToBeWyllt:** Don’t you have better things to be doing than playing a mobile game?

It wasn’t long before a reply came through. Merlin wondered fondly for the dozenth time if Arthur did any work at all at his fancy new job.

 **KingPendragon:** I will always have time to kick your bony ass  
**BornToBeWyllt:** That sounds like loser’s talk to me  
**KingPendragon:** You wish  
**KingPendragon:** Nice name, by the way  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Yeah I thought so too  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Stop stalling and play  
**KingPendragon:** You asked for it

Homework forgotten, Merlin shuffled his letters around intently as he waited for Arthur to play the first word. After a few minutes, the game updated with _genius_ for 14 points.

 **BornToBeWyllt:** Think highly of yourself huh  
**KingPendragon:** Coincidence, but a happy one  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Uh huh

Forty minutes later, Merlin threw his mobile on the bed and did a noisy victory lap of his room after beating Arthur by 2 points.

“Merlin, is something wrong?” Hunith called from downstairs. Merlin threw himself on his bed with a grin.

“Nah mam, it’s nothing,” he called back.

“Well I’m off to work, have a good evening. Try not to stomp the house down while I’m away,” she said.

“Bye,” Merlin replied. He heard the door shut and lock, and the car’s engine start outside. When he picked his mobile back up, he had two new in-game messages and a rematch request.

 **KingPendragon:** Beginner’s luck  
**KingPendragon:** Rematch me  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Someone sounds like a sore loser  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Go back to work, slacker  
**KingPendragon:** Just rematch me  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Fine, but I have homework so I won’t be playing immediately  
**KingPendragon:** That’s fine  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Get ready to be beaten again  
**KingPendragon:** Just play the damn game

***

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I need to get out this weekend  
**Merlin:** In a fun way or in a hiding from the rest of the world way  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Both?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** But more in a fun way I think  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I just need to stop thinking about how much I hate my new job for a short while  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Not everyone would think it’s fun though  
**Merlin:** Well now I’m curious  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** How do you feel about museums  
**Merlin:** Fine, I guess?  
**Merlin:** Haven’t been to one since probably year 11 tho  
**Merlin:** Class trip to London and the Tate Modern  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I thought I’d go to the British Museum tomorrow  
**Merlin:** Oh, that sounds cool  
**Merlin:** I haven’t been  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You don’t think it sounds nerdy and dull?  
**Merlin:** Oh it’s absolutely nerdy, but I already knew that about you 😉  
**Merlin:** But not dull, no  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Thanks, I think  
**Merlin:** Listen, you’re talking to a guy that used to spend his weekends either begging his mother and/or uncle to take him in to work with them so I could watch all the doctors being awesome, or studying anatomy and physiology for fun  
**Merlin:** My threshold for dull is fairly high  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Wow who’s the nerd now?  
**Merlin:** Hah hah  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😂  
**Merlin:** Too bad I can’t come with, hear you wax poetic about history again  
**Merlin:** Seduce me with your knowledge of 17th century ruins and artefacts  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well I can’t promise any seduction since I’ll be in a public place and that would be indecent  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** But we could FaceTime and I could bring you along with me that way?  
**Merlin:** That actually sounds pretty amazing, is it allowed?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Filming in the museum is, and as long as I’m quiet I don’t see why I wouldn’t be allowed to talk to you as I would if you were standing next to me  
**Merlin:** Well count me in, it’ll be a nice way to break up all the studying I have to do tomorrow  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Great, I can’t wait  
**Merlin:** Same

***

The next day Merlin sat himself at his desk with his book open intent on studying as planned, but his eyes kept straying from excruciatingly detailed descriptions of nucleic acids and protein folding over to where his mobile was propped against his lamp. Arthur had said he would call him when he got to the British Museum, which he expected to be sometime after lunch. Merlin had scarfed down his own hastily-prepared sandwich and tea at noon before heading back to his room to put on some clothing — he had awakened about 10 minutes before said sandwich-scarfing after a late night of binging Netflix — and sat down to pretend to get any studying done.

Around 1 Merlin’s mobile vibrated with an incoming call. He fumbled with it, nearly dropping it in his haste to answer, accepting the call and hoping he didn’t look like too much of an idiot as he smiled at Arthur.

“Hi!” he said, waving like a dork.

“Hey,” Arthur replied, seeming distracted. Merlin hoped he hadn’t changed his mind about how much fun a virtual museum date would be. Except it wasn’t really a date, it was just two dudes who slept together a few times doing friend things. Date-y friend things. Friend dates.

“How are things?” he asked, wondering if he could use his lack of studying to get out of what looked to be the beginning of an awkward call. It wasn’t the first time they’d FaceTimed — no, that particular call had devolved into Arthur making fun of Merlin for the mess his room had been (and continues to be, it’s not like Merlin had any particular need for the extreme level of tidiness Arthur was probably used to thanks to an army of housekeepers or whatever) — and it definitely wasn’t the first time they’d phoned each other since the Bahamas. But those were short catch up calls, or moments when one of them needed to vent and typing a text just wouldn’t suffice.

“Good,” Arthur said distractedly. “Sorry, I’m trying to figure out how to flip the camera around so I can show you things and you don’t have to stare at me staring at other things.”

“Staring at you isn’t exactly a hardship,” Merlin teased, hoping the blush that stained his cheeks wasn’t visible over FaceTime. Luckily, Arthur seemed well and truly distracted by the evils of technology and spent a few more seconds poking at his mobile intently before the image changed to the pavement in front of the museum and Arthur cheered in triumph.

“And Morgana thinks I’m rubbish with tech, that’ll show her,” Arthur said smugly. Merlin laughed, unable to help himself.

“You do seem pretty rubbish,” Merlin said, and Arthur turned his phone around so the camera caught him sticking his tongue out.

“So there’s been a small change of plans. I know I told you yesterday we were going to the British Museum, but when I woke this morning I felt like going to the zoo instead. I hope you like animals,” Arthur said, swinging the camera around to show Merlin the entrance to the London Zoo.

“Oh,” Merlin said, confused but willing. “That sounds fine, I love animals. As long as you go to the reptile house.”

“Why couldn’t you be a penguin bloke? Figures you’d be a reptile lover,” Arthur teased.

“Explains my affinity for you,” Merlin shot back as he twirled his pen between his fingers. “Both your name and your general scaly, sliminess puts you firmly in reptile territory.”

“Setting aside the utter insult it is being compared to a bloody reptile,” Arthur said in a highly offended tone of voice, “it’s sweet to know you do indeed love me.”

Merlin spluttered. “What? Why would you say that? I don’t… you ass!”

Arthur whipped the camera around again to give Merlin his best teasing grin, and Merlin was caught between feeling stupidly besotted at his stupid face and wondering if he was going to get motion sickness from an afternoon of jerky camera movements. As Arthur swung it back to face forward, Merlin figured he could handle a bit of nausea if it meant Arthur’s clear enthusiasm for the outing stayed firmly in place.

“Let’s go see the lions first,” Arthur said after purchasing his ticket. Merlin sighed dramatically.

“But of course the guy who calls himself KingPendragon in Wordfeud wants to go see the ‘king of the jungle’,” Merlin jokingly griped. “If we must,” he sighed, smiling into the camera so Arthur would know he was just teasing, all thoughts of getting any work done disappearing into the aether, as it always seemed to when Arthur was involved.

***

 _ **KingPendragon:** played _wank _(22 points)_

Merlin rolled his eyes.

 **BornToBeWyllt:** Real mature  
**KingPendragon:** I thought so

He studied the game board, and played two letters with a smug grin even though Arthur couldn’t see him.

 _You played_ wanker ( _39 points)_

 **BornToBeWyllt:** Much better  
**KingPendragon:** 😡

***

Things continued this way through the rest of winter and into the spring. All inquiries about how Arthur’s job was going were met with frustrated rants either about how he didn’t feel like he was doing well enough at the job, or about how much he hated business, or sometimes both. Merlin felt vaguely as though he ought to be annoyed that Arthur was making so much money and still managing to text him all day long, but he didn’t mind having the company during long hours in the lab or revising. 

After a whirlwind of midterm exams and an excruciating wait for results through easter recess, he happily texted Arthur that he’d passed everything with flying colours. 

**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Nice work, guess they’ll make a doctor of you yet 😜  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Must be nice to know you’re good at something.  
**Merlin:** Shut up, you’re good at lots of things.  
**Merlin:** Sucking cock for one 😏  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Yes, I’ll be sure to mention that at my performance evaluation.  
**Merlin:** Please do, and then film your father’s reaction  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Maybe I should  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Then maybe he’d just fire me and put me out of my misery  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Can you talk for a minute? 

Merlin responded in the affirmative and a moment later his mobile rang. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to take the sparkle out of you passing your exams, really, well done,” Arthur said as soon as Merlin picked up. He sounded tired, and Merlin could hear city traffic in the background.

“Thank you,” Merlin replied, glancing at the clock. It was only five and Arthur was usually in the office until at least six. “Calling it an early night?” 

Arthur snorted. 

“I wish. Working late. I’m going out for some takeaway and figured you could keep me company.” 

“Ah, yes. I do live to be your entertainment. Is there a PA position open? I may as well be on the payroll at this point.”

“Now there’s an idea,” Arthur said playfully. “Then I could just send you out to get me good tea instead of that vile shite they’re serving here.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Yes, who would want to be a doctor and save lives when I could be fetching tea for Arthur Pendragon.” 

Arthur gave a wistful sigh. “At least it’d be bearable if you were here.” 

Merlin tried to ignore the little tingle of warmth that spread through his body at the words.

“If you really hate it that much, why don’t you just talk to your father at your evaluation and tell him it’s not going well? It’s that the whole point of those things? Maybe he can, I don’t know, help you find a job that’s a better fit?”

“But it’s all business,” Arthur said bitterly. “Nothing’s going to fit because I hate it all.”

“Well,” Merlin said, hoping he didn’t sound too exasperated. “What would you rather be doing? Profession-wise, I mean. There must be something else you’ve thought about?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur said, sounding uncomfortable. “I mean, I always wanted to do something with history or literature. Maybe teach.”

“That sounds perfect!” Merlin replied. “I mean, even I could tell when I first met you that you were a history nerd at heart. And I think you’d make a brilliant professor. Why not go back to school then?”

“I can’t,” Arthur said, sounding strained. “I already put in all those years for my business degree… it would be stupid to start over now.” 

“More stupid than spending your entire life doing something you hate?” 

“And then there’s my father—” 

“But it’s not _his life_ , Arthur. Surely he doesn’t want you working there if it’s making you miserable?” 

“I’m not _miserable_.”

“Oh, please.” Merlin couldn’t help the eyeroll that accompanied the sigh at the end of his statement. Arthur had to be in denial. Miserable was the kindest way of putting the way he seemed to be feeling since he started at his father’s company.

“Hang on a sec.” 

There was a pause during which Merlin spun in his desk chair and listened to Arthur make cheerful small-talk with the cashier. He hoped that he hadn’t overstepped, but he hated seeing Arthur this unhappy. 

“Okay, sorry, I’m back,” Arthur said, the chiming of the shop door indicating that he was back out on the street. 

“That’s okay,” Merlin replied. “And listen, Arthur — I’m sorry if I’m out of line here, but well — you’re my friend and I just want you to be happy.” 

“No, I know,” Arthur said, sounding tired again. “I just wish it wasn’t all so complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Merlin said. “Honestly. Just think about talking to your father?”

“Alright, I’ll think about it,” Arthur promised. They spent the rest of the call talking about lighter subjects until Arthur had to get back to work. Arthur was quiet for the rest of the evening, and it wasn’t until hours later that he texted again.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Do you really think I’d be a good professor?

Arthur was so rarely anything like insecure that it caught Merlin by surprise for a moment, then he hurried to reply. 

**Merlin:** Absolutely. You’d be brilliant.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Thanks again for talking today  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m going to think about what you said.  
**Merlin:** Please do  
**Merlin:** When’s your evaluation again?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Next week, Friday  
**Merlin:** Hmm, alright  
**Merlin:** Let me know if you want to talk about it again  
**Merlin:** And I’m going to sleep early for once, so goodnight  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Okay, thanks  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Good night, sleep well

***

 **Merlin:** wyd?  
**Merlin:** I’m bored.  
**Merlin:** I’m going to be like you, entertain me peasant!  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hi, sorry! Just saw these  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I was doing some research, actually.  
**Merlin:** 👀 On what?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** …uni  
**Merlin:** 👀👀👀  
**Merlin:** Are you going to talk to your father?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m trying to get up the bollocks to, yeah  
**Merlin:** I don’t know, your bollocks seemed to be pretty up for a challenge, if I remember correctly  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😏😏  
**Merlin:** I should probably work on my reading, but good luck with your research  
**Merlin:** And your bollocks  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Thanks  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Have fun with your reading

***

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** If I leave the job, do think I’ll be a failure?  
**Merlin:** No  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Why are you awake???  
**Merlin:** Could ask you the same thing  
**Merlin:** And I don’t have class until noon tomorrow  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I can’t sleep. What about Biophysics?  
**Merlin:** Cancelled, remember?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Ah, yeah, you did tell me that sorry  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Anyway  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** What makes you so sure?  
**Merlin:** Because the professor emailed us?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** No you idiot. About being a failure  
**Merlin:** Oooh, yeah that. Idk … I guess I’d only consider you a failure if you stayed with that job and tried to force yourself to love it when you clearly would rather be doing something else  
**Merlin:** Being good at something and wanting to study it more isn’t failure  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** What if it ends up being a mistake though?  
**Merlin:** What if it doesn’t? What if you end up finding the world’s first published Beowulf gay erotic fanfiction manuscript? What if you become a brillant, world-renowned professor? What if your students adore you?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Now you’re just taking the piss  
**Merlin:** I’m really not though  
**Merlin:** Taking the piss would be reminding you that there’s always amature porn if your other plans fall through  
**Merlin:** I think you could make a lot on OnlyFans before your ass goes to seed  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Good night, Merlin  
**Merlin:** Night 😄  
**Merlin:** Call me tomorrow after your evaluation?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Yeah, if you’ll be around?  
**Merlin:** I will  
**Merlin:** Good luck

***

Merlin knew that Arthur’s evaluation was scheduled for the end of the day, so when he hadn’t heard from Arthur by 6 PM he started checking his mobile every five minutes. Just as he was debating whether or not he should call himself, the mobile vibrated in his hand and he jumped a mile. 

“How did it go?” he asked as soon as he picked up. 

“I don’t know… well, I guess?” Merlin couldn’t hear any street noise, so he was guessing that Arthur was either still in his office or had splashed out for a taxi home.

“You guess? What did your father say?” 

“That’s the weird thing — he was totally okay with it. Said that he had been expecting it, actually, and was glad that I had approached him first. Apparently he has some contacts at King’s College that he’s going to reach out to for me, see if I can get a tour of the campus.” 

“Arthur! That’s brilliant!” Merlin was beaming, full of relief for his friend. But when Arthur hummed noncommittal in agreement, he frowned. “What’s wrong then? This is great news — you’re free!” 

“Well, not exactly. He asked if I would consider staying with the company through the spring, until he can headhunt a suitable replacement. He figures early July.”

“Still,” Merlin insisted. “It’s not like you’re terrible at what you’re doing, and it’ll be a lot easier to face with a light at the end of the tunnel.”

“I guess.”

Merlin rolled his eyes, thankful they weren’t on video chat. 

“Arthur, this literally couldn’t have gone better. What are you being such a gloomy pants?”

“Gloomy pants? Really?” 

“If the pants fit…” 

Arthur snorted into the phone and then after a moment of silence said quietly. “I don’t know, I’ve been worrying about it for so long that it seems almost… anticlimactic. Especially when _I_ still feel disappointed in me, even if my father doesn’t.” 

“Arthur Pendragon,” Merlin said firmly. “Listen to me. You are _not_ a disappointment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with deciding to go back to school! Loads of people do it every semester! You’re not special! So there’s no need to beat yourself up like some tragic hero. You deserve to figure out what makes you happy, not just… follow some bloody proscribed path. And there’s _nothing_ disappointing about that.” 

Merlin was so worked up that he had actually stood up and started pacing around his small room, tugging at his hair. Now as silence rang over the phone, he played back over his words and winced. 

“Er—” Merlin said. “I mean…” 

Luckily Arthur only chuckled. 

“Tell me how you really feel, mate.” 

“Shut up,” Merlin muttered, feeling the heat rise to his face. He flopped backward onto his bed. “Just let yourself be happy for once, okay? I swear it won’t kill you.” 

“I’m perfectly capable of being happy, as you’ll recall,” Arthur said smugly, sounding as though he were stretching. “And all right, you’ve made your point. I’m still getting used to this, but I’ll keep all that in mind.”

“Good,” Merlin said, starting up at the ceiling. “I really think this is going to be a good thing for you.”

“I hope you’re right,” Arthur said with a sigh. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll text you later?” 

“Sure. Later,” Merlin said, and rang off. 

***

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Thanks for that. And thank you for encouraging me to talk to him in the first place. I never would have gotten up the bollocks to do it without you.  
**Merlin:** You’re welcome.  
**Merlin:** I’ve been told that I’m very inspiring to bollocks.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You’re ridiculous.  
**Merlin:** I know :) Yet here you are, texting me on a Friday night.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Pathetic isn’t it? 😝  
**Merlin:** Extremely. 

***

_You have one new message. First message, from 020 7946 0279 received Saturday, May 3rd at 1:52 am._

“Merlin. Meeeeerliiiiiiin. Merlin. Merlin. Mmmmmmmmerlin. Where are you Merlinnnnnnnnnn? Why aren’t you here? Could’ve celebrated m’freedom together.”

Merlin pulled his mobile away from his face to stare at it bemusedly for a second, before continuing to listen to the voicemail that seemed to have been left by a decidedly pissed Arthur.

“I wish you were here. S’not as much fun drinking alone, and you’re so much fun. Why don’t you live in London? Stupid Cardiff, ‘m sure there’s good medical programmes in London too. I miss your stupid face with your stupid cheekbones and your stupid ears. God I love your ears, I just wanna suck on them like lollies. Ear lollies. Mmm. Merlin’s earssss.”

He stifled a giggle, not wanting to wake Hunith at 7 am the day after she had worked a double shift. Even in the Bahamas on holiday he hadn’t seen Arthur get so completely pissed. Not even on his worst nights wishing his life were different. Relief, it seemed, was… not really a good look on Arthur, but it seemed that he was letting himself cut loose, which could only be a good thing, Merlin thought.

Arthur’s drunken voice lowered to the sort of whisper-scream of the truly soused. “My Uber driver thinks I’m crazy I think. But I don’t care, I jus’ really like your ears. Oh!” Voicemail-Arthur perked up a bit, “but I like other things about you too. You have really long legs and they’re so hot when…” his coherency trailed off for a moment, but Merlin’s libido could definitely fill in the blanks, and his own morning erection was decidedly more interested in what Arthur had to say. He pressed a hand between his legs to relieve some of the pressure, trying not to picture Arthur on his knees in front of him. God, this stupid drunken voicemail was going to become his newest wank fantasy.

“You know what I really miss? Your belly button. I just wanna lay on it like you’re a pillow and fall asleep. You look all bony and gangly, but you’re so comfortable to lay on. No you can drop me here I’m fine.”

“Mate you might wanna end that call,” an unknown voice said in the background. Merlin figured it was the Uber driver Arthur said thought he was crazy. “Your Marilynn might not appreciate a drunken retelling of her charms.”

“So many charms,” Arthur agreed loudly. Then there was the sound of a shuffle and a car door slamming and Arthur grunting, Merlin figured he tripped over the kerb or something. “Merlin god I miss the way your thighs looked so pale against my skin, you remember that? When I was touching you that time we shagged by the pool? Sometimes I can still hear the way you panted in my ear…”

As Arthur trailed off, Merlin slipped his hand mindlessly below the waistband of his pyjama bottoms and boxers to palm his fully-hard cock. He did remember shagging Arthur by the infinity pool, the last day they were together, when Merlin refused to bring up the fact that it was the last time they’d see each other, since it was Christmas the following day and Merlin was leaving on Boxing Day, and Arthur seemed intent on the same. Arthur had slowly peeled off Merlin’s swimming trunks and swallowed him down underneath the Bahamian sunshine.

_To replay this message, press 1. To delete this message, press 7. To save it in the archives, press 9. For more options…_

Merlin was pulled from his memories by the sound of the voicemail menu. Arthur must have been quiet for long enough to cut the message off and hadn’t called back to continue. Merlin squeezed his cock as he tapped the 9 key to save the message, then navigated back to start it over, putting it on speaker and closing his eyes as his hand worked along his dick to the sound of Arthur’s drunken drawl.

***

 **Merlin:** So my ears, huh?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** No shut up don’t ever mention that again  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Delete the message and forget it ever existed please  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I barely remember it and I’d like to keep it that way  
**Merlin:** With how drunk you sounded I’m surprised you remember anything at all  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I remember just enough to know I should be deeply ashamed of myself

Something about that stung Merlin, though he knew if their positions were reversed he’d probably feel the same way. Nobody wanted to experience the effects of in vino veritas — assuming it was the truth that Arthur missed what they’d had however short and not just Arthur reliving and enjoying the memory of what had been some excellent sex — against their better judgment. Merlin swallowed the bitter lump in his throat that Arthur regretted saying any of what he had said, and tapped out a message to keep the conversation going.

 **Merlin:** Oh come on, shame is for poor people 😂  
**Merlin:** So you went out last night  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Which was clearly a mistake  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** One I won’t be making again  
**Merlin:** Aw no but it was funny  
**Merlin:** Nobody’s ever drunk dialed me like that before  
**Merlin:** I regret I wasn’t awake to answer  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** My one saving grace  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😫  
**Merlin:** How’s the hangover?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Awful, thank you for asking  
**Merlin:** Tell me more about my ears  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Fuck. Off.  
**Merlin:** 🤣  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m going to try and get some more sleep, you want to play Wordfeud when I feel a bit more human?  
**Merlin:** Sure, just hit me up

***

“What would you say,” Merlin suggested one evening as they were chatting about how their week had gone, “to going on an adventure together?”

“I would say, ‘what did you have in mind’ I think,” Arthur replied. Merlin grinned.

“Well since you’re about to finish out your time at your dad’s company and have nothing to do until the fall term starts, and I’m about to finish spring term and have a whole summer to myself without having to revise for biology exams, what if we met somewhere?” Merlin said in a carefully thoughtful voice to try and disguise the fact that he’d been thinking of this idea nearly nonstop for a week. As if it wasn’t him fishing for an opportunity to float the idea of them being in an actual relationship for real in an organic way.

“That could be fun,” Arthur agreed. “Or it could be a disaster.”

“You’re right, but it worked for us in December,” Merlin pointed out as he started pacing the short length of his room, picking up dirty clothing with his toes and kicking it toward the corner where his laundry basket lived beneath a mountain of unwashed graphic tees and skinny jeans. Hunith had stopped doing his laundry for him years ago when she grew tired of him complaining that he never had any clean underwear or his favourite shirts. Since then, it felt like he would never be able to catch up on the backlog of laundry, and settled for doing a load of his favourite items whenever his drawers turned up empty.

“Where did you fancy going?” Arthur asked, snapping Merlin’s attention back to his mobile and the warm, posh voice pressed against his ear.

“What if we went to a beach? You know, for old time’s sake,” Merlin said.

“Ibiza?” Arthur asked. Merlin snorted. “Too partyish for the busy med student, huh? What about the South of France? Santorini? Hawaii?”

“Some of us are living on a starving student’s budget, not a trust fund,” Merlin pointed out.

“I wouldn’t mind pa—”

“Don’t finish that sentence, Pendragon,” Merlin interrupted. “I do have some pride.” Arthur laughed.

“Fine. Domestic it is. What about Brighton?” Arthur suggested. Merlin hummed thoughtfully.

“Brighton sounds fun, I’ve never been,” he said after a moment of consideration. “You’re finished work in July, right?”

“The fourth is my last day, yes,” Arthur said.

“So what if we planned it for the 16th or 17th through the weekend?”

“Great,” Arthur said. “I’ll just make a hotel reservation, then.”

“Nothing too extravagant,” Merlin warned. “I intend on paying my own way.”

“You won’t let me be your sugar daddy?” Arthur teased. Merlin felt himself blush.

“Not on your life. You’re too young for that.”

“Naive child,” Arthur said. Merlin could practically hear him shaking his head.

“I’m serious,” Merlin insisted. “You’re more in the sugar baby age range. You have the money, but generally sugar daddies are older. And also need to pay to have hot young things want to spend time with them. You’re hot enough to get that for free.”

“And you would know this how?” Arthur asked, sounding vaguely outraged. Merlin laughed.

“How do you think I’m paying for school?” he teased, slipping into a more flirty tone. Arthur made another outraged noise, and Merlin laughed even louder. “Really though, my friends Gwen and Freya sometimes talk about sugar baby-ing when they’re sick of their jobs, so I get to hear all their research about it. They’d never actually go through with it, though. I think.”

“Why don’t they just switch jobs?” Arthur asked, confused.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Last time I asked they told me to shut it, so I stopped asking,” Merlin shrugged.

“Sounds like my sister,” Arthur said. “Women are frightening.”

“They are, but don’t let them hear me say that. I like my bollocks where they are, thank you very much,” Merlin laughed.

“They are very nice,” Arthur agreed.

“Oh, I wasn’t aware you were so interested in my bollocks,” Merlin teased.

“Now that can’t be true, not with how often I made an excuse to fondle them in Nassau,” Arthur shot back, sounding flirtatious. Merlin laughed, his insides twisting with longing.

“It’s too bad we only had a few days together. I might have noticed your ball fetish then,” Merlin said. Arthur guffawed.

“I wouldn’t call it a fetish,” he said.

“What would you call it then?” Merlin asked.

“A healthy interest,” Arthur answered.

“In my bollocks.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Is that a problem?” Arthur asked. “We’ve joked about bollocks before.”

“Just… not where this conversation was originally headed. I have a bit of conversational whiplash,” Merlin said with a laugh. Was Arthur flirting? It wasn’t the first time Merlin had such a thought. It had to be on purpose. He had to be flirting.

Right?

“All conversational roads lead to bollocks given enough time, I think we’ve proved that,” Arthur said.

“I’m not sure that’s true,” Merlin shook his head with a squinting grin.

“In my experience it is,” Arthur said.

“Bollock fetishist,” Merlin said.

“So we’ll have to decide what we want to do when we’re in Brighton,” Arthur said loudly, swerving the conversation back on track and making Merlin’s head spin.

“Conversational whiplash,” he muttered. Arthur snickered.

“Believe me when I say it’s completely purposeful.”

“Oh I believe you,” Merlin said dryly. “You sure you don’t want to just stay in the hotel and have a go at my bollocks?”

“We’ll see. If you’ve been exceptionally good we can talk about it.”

“You’re weird, and this conversation is weird, and I’m going now,” Merlin said with a chuckle, shaking his head and ending the call as Arthur laughed obnoxiously loud.

Arthur was confusing him. There were times when they would flirt and banter, and it felt good and right and made Merlin think there was definitely something more between them. Arthur’s drunken voicemail back in April definitely hadn’t helped dissuade that idea. But then there were times when Arthur played the part of a good friend, asking if Merlin had met anyone or gone out to the clubs on the pull. 

Merlin’s mobile vibrated, and he sighed as he opened his messages.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You can’t just leave me like that 🤨  
**Merlin:** I think I just did 🤔  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Prat  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** What about Brighton?  
**Merlin:** What about it?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Do you have a hotel preference?  
**Merlin:** Nothing too expensive, but near the beach if possible  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You know I don’t mind paying for a nicer accommodation  
**Merlin:** I mind!  
**Merlin:** You’re not pulling another waterpark adventure on me, Pendragon 😛  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Is that a challenge?  
**Merlin:** It absolutely is not  
**Merlin:** Arthur you better not book any sort of private villa  
**Merlin:** Arthur don’t you dare  
**Merlin:** Arthur  
**Merlin:** Stop it  
**Merlin:** Put the credit card down  
**Merlin:** Step away from the booking  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Relax, I’ll be reasonable  
**Merlin:** Good  
**Merlin:** Wait  
**Merlin:** What’s your definition of reasonable  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You know, reasonable  
**Merlin:** Oh my god this is going to be you being James Bond all over again isn’t it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I really have no idea what you’re talking about  
**Merlin:** You know, with the Ocean Club  
**Merlin:** Like in Casino Royale  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Right. Sure.  
**Merlin:** Please tell me you actually do know what I’m talking about and aren’t just having me on  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😬  
**Merlin:** Oh my god how have you not seen Casino Royale?!  
**Merlin:** Mads Mikkelson being a hot bad guy  
**Merlin:** Daniel Craig starring as my sexual awakening  
**Merlin:** It was filmed at the resort your family apparently goes to every sodding year  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Is that right?  
**Merlin:** I honestly can’t believe you  
**Merlin:** Do you actually live under a rock when you’re not on holiday?  
**Merlin:** Are all rich people this out of touch?  
**Merlin:** Don’t answer that  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** The more you talk the more you offend me into penthouse suites  
**Merlin:** Shutting up now  
**Merlin:** But we are going to watch Casino Royale together  
**Merlin:** Clearly you need to be educated  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’ll send over the hotel information when it’s booked  
**Merlin:** Fine. NO SUITES.  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😎  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** This is going to be fun

***

It had started out as a lovely day. Bright and warm and not a cloud in the sky, the kind of day that begged to be enjoyed. So rather than staying stuck inside, Merlin had answered the call for fresh air gladly. That is, until his stupid mobile had to go and ruin things.

Merlin stared dumbly at the screen, shocked. Quite without realising it, his heart had jumped out of his chest and shattered on the ground into a million tiny shards.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hey sorry I haven’t been that chatty the past few days  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I kind of met someone

Merlin sat heavily on a bench, clutching his mobile until his knuckles turned white. He had been out walking a footpath in a park near his house when his pocket had vibrated with the notification that had broken his heart. With shaking hands, he replied, feeling as though he was going to be sick everywhere.

 **Merlin:** Oh, really? I honestly hadn’t noticed  
**Merlin:** That’s great though!  
**Merlin:** I’m happy for you

It most certainly was not great, and he definitely had noticed Arthur’s sudden taciturnity but hadn’t thought too much of it. They had still been greeting each other each morning, and wishing each other good night each night at the very least, so he figured Arthur was just busy trying to get everything squared away at work and with school and didn’t want to add to any stress Arthur was under by bringing it up. Tears pricked at his eyes as he waited for Arthur to respond, and he swiped angrily at his eyes to try and banish them. The last thing he wanted was to have an emotional breakdown in public over the guy he was interested in finding someone else before Merlin had even realised he needed to say something to Arthur about it.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** It was sort of unexpected  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I was on campus talking to the head of the programme I’m joining and we sort of ran into each other  
**Merlin:** How very romantic comedy  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Oh come on it’s not that cheesy is it?  
**Merlin:** 🤐  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Whatever, it’s a cute story  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You’re just jealous

And wasn’t that the bare-faced truth of it all. Merlin tipped his head back, ostensibly to stare into the cloud-dotted sky as he tried to figure out what to say that wouldn’t confirm Arthur’s joke as Merlin’s pathetic reality, but really it was to keep his eyes from spilling over.

 **Merlin:** Just make sure you aren’t one of those disgusting PDA couples  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** What, like we were over Christmas?

If Arthur was trying to purposefully hurt him, he was succeeding. If it was accidental, then Merlin needed to have a conversation with him regarding tact. Preferably when the world in front of him wasn’t swimming as blinked through tears that had gone from threatening to fall to fully slipping down his cheek.

“Fuck you, Pendragon,” he muttered aloud as he replied.

 **Merlin:** Probably best if you don’t say shit like that to your new bloke  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You’re right, that was uncalled for  
**Merlin:** You said you haven’t dated much so here’s a tip  
**Merlin:** Most people aren’t keen on hearing about the exes of the people they’re seeing  
**Merlin:** Even if the ex in question was a short term holiday thing  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m not ashamed of you Merlin  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m not going to hide you like some dirty secret  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Especially since we’re friends now  
**Merlin:** I didn’t say hide it  
**Merlin:** Just maybe don’t bring up the fact that we’ve slept together without being prompted  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Ah  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Right

Merlin hated everything that was happening, and was tempted to just end the conversation and go get roaring drunk, but couldn’t bring himself to move from his spot on the bench. People passed him by, happy children and couples with dogs going about their afternoons as if everything hadn’t just changed.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** This doesn’t change our trip  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** We’re still on for Brighton  
**Merlin:** Of course  
**Merlin:** I’ve been looking forward to that  
**Merlin:** You’re not getting out of it that easily  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Wouldn’t dream of it  
**Merlin:** Listen though, I’m about to go shadow my mum at work so I won’t be able to answer for a while  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Do you ever take a break?  
**Merlin:** Not if I can help it!  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well have fun, overachiever  
**Merlin:** 😛

***

Merlin ignored the growing feel of the fist-sized lump of jealousy that settled in the pit of his stomach and physically _hurt_ in a way he couldn’t adequately describe for as long as he could. If by “ignored” one meant “catastrophising by daydreaming every single scenario where Arthur was lost to him forever”. He was having a hard time concentrating in class, because all he could think about was the way Arthur looked when he laughed, how he sounded when he spoke through a wide smile, and all of it turned toward someone else. It had gotten so bad after the first few days that Hunith had noticed something was wrong and made a valiant attempt to get Merlin to talk to her about what was bothering him, but Merlin didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to talk about how he was stupid enough to let Arthur slip through his fingers through his own inaction. He just wanted to have a massive sulk about it and hope that the ugly feelings would eventually fade. Hunith eventually gave up on trying to get him to talk to her after he stonewalled her by repeating “I’m _fine_ , mam” as often as she asked. She let him know she was there to listen if he wanted to talk, and he let her know once more that everything was perfectly fine.

Merlin had spent the better part of June being as wound up as he ever had been, torn between wanting to block Arthur and lick his wounds in private and desperately clinging to every message he sent with the tenacity of a starving man faced with a feast just barely out of reach. His hand was unconsciously balled into a fist so often and so tightly that there seemed to be semi-permanent fingernail marks in his palms. It was eating him up inside. When finals came and went with Merlin in a daze, he was honestly surprised to find he had passed all his classes when his marks were returned. He couldn’t even enjoy the relief that it should have brought to find out he’d be moving on to the next year of medical school come fall.

“I thought we had a connection,” he said to his empty room one night a few days before they were set to meet in Brighton, grabbing his mobile, pulling up a selfie Arthur had sent the month before where he was pulling an incredibly unflattering face — that Merlin found attractive regardless — and staring at it sadly. “I thought he felt it too.”

Before he could think better of it, Merlin opened his conversation with Arthur. The last message was Arthur sending him a cat meme that Merlin had responded to with a crying-laughing emoji. Even though at the time he didn’t feel like crying laughing. He just felt like crying.

 **Merlin:** Hey I hate to do this but I can’t make it to Brighton

He paused, his thumb hovering over the Send button. He knew it was a dick move to pull out of the trip they’d been planning together for the past month at the last second, but Merlin wasn’t sure he could face Arthur and not kiss him. Merlin wasn’t in the business of chasing after unattainable men, and having Arthur in front of him when all he wanted was to see if they still had chemistry in person the way they had in the Bahamas and the way it still felt even over phone and text, yet not being able to made Merlin bitter and sad in a way he hadn’t even felt when Gilli had broken up with him.

“Maybe I should do this over the phone instead,” he muttered, setting his mobile aside for a moment to mull over his options. Sucking it up and going anyway was off the table, no matter what his mam would tell him about politeness and courtesy and being friends with people even if you would rather be something more — and god wasn’t that a bitter pill to swallow, learning that he wasn’t a strong enough person to put his attraction aside to enjoy a trip with someone whose company he genuinely enjoyed even outside the fantastic sex; it was a character flaw he knew he really ought to work on. So that left being a coward via phone, or being a coward via text.

Merlin rubbed his eyes, working out the pros and cons of each. Right, he could do this. Pros of cowardice via phone were that he could say he did the honourable thing and didn’t fully chicken out. But on the con end, he would have to hear the disappointment in Arthur’s voice when he told him. Pros of cowardice via text were that he didn’t have to deal with Arthur’s reaction, he simply had to send the message with an appropriate upset emoji and hope Arthur wasn’t too mad. The cons were… well he knew Arthur was going to be disappointed, so he wasn’t exactly going to escape that knowledge no matter what he did. And he would always know he took the easy way out when things got down to it. Not the best feeling in the world.

He agonised over it for several more minutes, until finally he sighed and decided that if Arthur was going to be disappointed either way, at least he didn’t have to torture himself with forcing himself to listen to Arthur’s sad voice. He picked his mobile back up and opened the messaging app to add to his initial message before sending it.

 **Merlin:** hey I hate to do this but I can’t make it to Brighton. A family thing came up, I’m really sorry. But maybe you could take your new boyfriend so the hotel we booked isn’t wasted? Anyway I hope you have a good time 😉

Then in a burst of additional cowardice, he turned his phone off and ignored it for the rest of the day.

***

The rest of the day turned into two days, turned into four, turned into an entire week. On the day he was meant to leave to meet Arthur Merlin swore to himself he’d turn his mobile back on so he could get updates on what Arthur was doing, and if he was having a good time. But the thought of receiving selfies of Arthur with his unnamed, faceless boyfriend having fun on the beach together made something ugly in Merlin squeeze his heart. He spent that day in the haze of a Netflix binge he only partially paid any attention to, stripped down to his underwear and wishing their house had air conditioning so he could turn it on full blast and roll himself into a sad blanket burrito instead of being a melting sack of depression in the middle of the sweltering Cardiff heat.

Another week crawled by unnoticed by Merlin in the midst of his legendary mope. Hunith occasionally knocked on his door to try and coax him out of it with the promise of baked goods or ice cream or another sweet treat that definitely would have worked if he were younger and not nursing a broken heart, but all Merlin could muster for her was a grunt of “No thanks,” whenever she offered. He could tell she was growing more and more frustrated with him each day, and was sure she’d eventually snap and sit him down and force him to talk about his feelings — and he loved his mother more than anyone in the world, but he did not want to talk to her about boy problems — but Merlin was saved from such a fate by the appearance of Will late one afternoon.

“Jesus fuck you stink,” he said, standing in the door without so much as a hello, how are you. “Could you at least take a break from yer wallowing to open a window or something?” Merlin rolled over to look at him for long enough to decide he didn’t want to deal with him just then, and rolled back to continue staring at the wall.

“Yer mam said you were having a hard time of it, but for god’s sake Merlin you couldn’t take a bath? Have you even changed your clothes in the past day? Or three?” Will continued, willfully oblivious of Merlin’s obvious dismissal.

“Says the one who made it a personal goal to make it in the Guiness Book of World Records for longest time without a bath,” Merlin muttered, a touch maliciously.

“I was twelve, and disgusting,” Will said, picking his way over Merlin’s piles of dirty clothing to stand next to the bed. “You don’t have the same excuse.” Merlin turned over again and glared at him. “Well, you’re pretty disgusting mate,” Will added.

“Do you have a point, or can you see your own way out?” Merlin asked.

“Tetchy,” Will said mildly.

“Can’t a man be left to wallow in peace?” Merlin whined.

“I don’t see a man here. I see a lump of shit,” Will shot back. “Now get up and get into the shower. We’re going out.”

“I don’t want to go out,” Merlin whinged sullenly, rolling over once more toward the wall and used his toes to flip up his duvet to pull it over his head despite the sweltering heat that had originally forced him to kick it toward the end of his bed.

“Yeah well that’s too bad,” Will said, undeterred. Merlin knew what was coming next, and grabbed onto the duvet for dear life as his so-called best mate tugged it off him. They spent the next minute engaged in a ridiculous tugging war that Merlin eventually lost.

“Please just go,” Merlin begged. He knew he wasn’t fit for human company in such a state, especially with Will of all people commenting on his hygiene. Will thought that washing his bed sheets was a suggestion and not a requirement.

“Mate I love you, but you need to get over whatever it is that’s got you like this. And the best way of getting over things I know is by getting drunk. We can talk about your feelings or whatever as well, but only after you’re clean and have a few pints in you.” Will pulled at the fabric of Merlin’s t-shirt to urge him up into a sitting position, and Merlin let it happen. He _did_ feel pretty disgusting, and his hair was in desperate need of a wash. His scalp was itchy and the usually bouncy curls were limp and stringy. As if to punctuate how little he had been taking care of himself his stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly, announcing his forgotten hunger to the room.

Will rolled his eyes. “I’ll even buy you a plate of chips if you’ll go quietly,” he said. Merlin’s shoulders hunched up toward his ears, but he stood of his own free Will and started shuffling toward the bathroom. A plate of greasy chips and a few pints sounded like the most sensible idea Will had ever had, but he wasn’t about to say it out loud.

“Can you check the top drawer to see if I have any clean pants?” Merlin asked, before shutting the bathroom door. He heard Will muttering just loud enough for him to make out the words.

“You are so lucky we’re friends.”

For the first time in days, Merlin’s lips tipped up in the tiniest of smiles.

***

A while later they were in the pub where Will usually tended bar, tucked away at a corner table where Merlin was demolishing his second plate of chips. They were both on their second pint of lager, and Merlin was feeling better than he had since he shut off his mobile two weeks ago.

“You gonna tell me why your phone’s been off for so long?” Will asked as he watched Merlin single handedly devour a mountain of fried potatoes. “I know your service hasn’t been shut off, you’re more responsible with your money than I am.”

Merlin laughed at the reference to the near-monthly occurrence of Will trying to scrounge together enough dosh to pay for his mobile phone service. More than once Merlin had loaned the money to him to save his pasty arse from being cut off.

“Trying to get over a guy, I suppose,” Merlin finally said, tapping a chip against the edge of the plate. They were a mite soggy so it didn’t make much of a noise. It wasn’t satisfying, so Merlin tossed it back onto the plate and reached for a serviette to wipe his hands on.

“A guy did this?” Will asked, making a face. “Must’a been some guy. You didn’t even mope this hard when you and Gilli broke up.”

“Yeah well I knew almost from the start that Gilli and I weren’t in it for the long haul,” Merlin said.

“Merlin Wyllt, toying with boys and breaking hearts,” Will said with a low whistle. Merlin leaned over to punch his arm.

“Fuck off,” he said. Will laughed.

“I didn’t even know you were seein’ anyone,” Will said after a few moments.

“I…well, I’m not? Not really, anyway. I’ve just been talking to this guy for a while, and I thought he felt something between us the way I do.” Merlin sighed heavily. “Guess not, considering he went and told me he has a new boyfriend now.”

“So you met him on an app?” Will asked. Merlin considered saying yes, just to spare himself the embarrassment of the truth of things.

_Nope, I’m just arse over tits for the guy I had a fling with on holiday. Don’t you catch feelings for all your one-week stands?_

He shook his head to himself, knowing it sounded pretty pathetic even in the privacy of his own head. Out loud would be worse. Will caught the movement, making a face as he tried to figure out what Merlin was hiding.

“So, not an app,” he said. Merlin sighed.

“Not exactly. It’s someone I met in person,” he said.

“Merlin, mate, I’m gonna need you to be more specific,” Will complained. “I don’t have enough money to sit here all night and play guessing games with the guys you want to fuck.”

“Okay firstly, fuck you,” Merlin said with a deep frown. “I never asked you to play agony aunt, you brought this on yourself when you decided to drag me out. And it’s not like you even pay full price here, you brought me to the pub you work at.”

“Like I’d take you anywhere else,” Will scoffed. Merlin resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at him.

“Remember the guy I told you about, the one I met over Christmas?” he said, deciding to just cut to the chase. Will was like a dog with a bone when he wanted to know something, and Merlin didn’t fancy spending half his night being given the third degree only to eventually spill anyway. Will sat up straighter and didn’t speak for a minute or two.

“Let me get this straight.” he finally said as he stared hard at Merlin, who avoided his gaze by doing some staring of his own at his beer. “You’re pining over the git in the waterpark video you sent us? I mean he’s hot if you’re into huge cocks with too many muscles, but didn’t you spend all of your holiday complaining to us about him being a posh bastard with more money than any decent human should have access to?”

Merlin groaned as if he were in pain and covered his face with his hands. “His cock really is huge,” he said sadly.

“Christ Merlin, I was not talking about his actual cock. Disgustin’. Please delete that from my brain immediately,” Will said with a horrified look. “You shagged him?” Immediately after asking, he held up a hand to forestall Merlin from talking. “No wait, don’t answer that, I don’t want to hear about your holiday fuck.”

“To answer your question, yes. To both.” Merlin said to try and get back on track. He tried laughing, but it sounded flat even to his own ears. “And he’s actually pretty decent once you get past the painfully posh exterior,” Merlin said, trying to defend Arthur from Merlin’s tendency to complain about everything to his mates even when he was happy.

“Wonderful, I love your taste in men,” Will said, deadpan. “And let me guess, you haven’t actually told him you’re pining over him like some sort of… of maiden.” He waved his hand in a circle in front of him as he spoke, illustrating his agitation.

“No!” Merlin exclaimed in an offended voice. “Maybe,” he amended a half second later. “But not the maiden bit.” Will rolled his eyes.

“Tell yourself that, Wyllt. If it makes you feel better. So, what? You’re mad that he went and found someone else instead of reading your mind?” Will tilted his head to the side, trying to fathom out emotions in Merlin that he hadn’t even really figured out in himself yet.

“When you say it like that it sounds ridiculous and a bit mental,” Merlin muttered, slumping down in his chair.

“That’s because it is, mate.” Will clearly had no compassion for Merlin’s complicated feelings about his complicated love life. Merlin let his head fall back against the chair back with a thump and closed his eyes. For a moment he wished he could go back in time to before he’d met Arthur and his life was simpler.

“Ugh, I know. What’s wrong with me?” he asked as he brought a hand up to tug at his hair in frustration.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Will said with a snort.

“Some best mate you are.” Merlin sat up and glared at his so-called best mate. Will snorted again and put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder.

“Listen,” he said, “all you can do is tell him the truth.” Merlin made a face, but Will ignored him and kept talking. “And stop avoiding everyone to have a sulk, you aren’t six you big baby. Start acting like an adult, nobody wants their doctor to be actin’ like they’re still in primary school. You emotionally stunted twpsyn.”

“Your support is touching,” Merlin said flatly. “This is really rich, coming from you.”

“Merlin,” Will said, a serious note in his voice that made Merlin sigh. He knew he was deflecting, and he knew Will knew he was deflecting. That was the problem with being friends since they were in nappies.

“I know, I know,” Merlin said in a defeated tone. “I just don’t know what to say to him to make it better.”

Will shrugged. “You might not be able to say anything to make it better, you pulled a pretty big dick move, and not the good kind.”

“I know,” Merlin repeated, frowning.

“But you can start with an apology and see where that goes,” Will offered. Merlin raised his eyebrows.

“You’re surprisingly wise sometimes, Will,” he said, mildly surprised.

“Yeah don’t go spreadin’ that around,” Will said before taking a drink from his pint and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Then I’ll have to start dealin’ with everyone’s relationship shit, and I’m not that type’a bartender.”

Merlin laughed, and downed the rest of his own pint. He was still sad over the situation with Arthur, but being dragged out had definitely been a good idea to help him feel a bit better.

“Thanks,” he said after a moment. “You’re a good friend.”

“Yeah I know,” Will said with a cheeky grin. “But hey, in the future if you have issues with your posh git maybe try using your words and telling him what you’re actually thinkin’ and feelin’. People aren’t going to be as forgiving as I am when you’re being so twp.”

“I’ll do my best,” Merlin promised.

“You do that,” Will said. “And turn yer goddamn phone back on.”

“Oh. Right,” Merlin said, and patted down his pockets to try and find it before he remembered he left it to charge in his room. “When I get back I will.”

“Idiot,” Will reiterated, but not without some fondness.

“It’s why you love me,” Merlin shot back. Will shook his head emphatically.

“No that’s definitely not why,” he said quickly. Merlin would have been offended if it were anyone else saying it, but that was just how he and Will talked to each other.

“Fuck off,” Merlin said again with a mock frown.

“Your friends miss you, you arse,” Will said. “Make sure you let them know what’s what. Gwen and Freya’ve been pesterin’ me for days about how you are. The least you can do is answer them yourself and save me from answering a thousand questions about you.”

“I’ll apologise to them, I promise,” Merlin said softly. He had a sudden yet unsurprising realisation that he hadn’t been a very good friend to anyone, lately. Certainly not to Arthur, and least of all to the friends he’d known for years. It made his heart ache with regret over how he’d been acting.

“Yeah you better,” Will said, before letting the subject drop to Merlin’s gratitude. He settled back as Will started talking about some girl who had been coming to the pub to see him, and how he was going to ask for her number the next time he saw her.

The rest of the evening passed in a pleasant blur, and Merlin returned home tipsier but in much better spirits than when he had left.

***

He waited until the next morning to turn his mobile back on, wincing at the barrage of missed calls and messages that had gone unanswered for two weeks. He went into WhatsApp long enough to mark everything as read — more than 300 messages in the group chat alone, not even counting the private messages sent by Gwen and Freya, and even an annoyed Will trying to get hold of him — and sent a quick apology to the group chat letting them know he’d explain what happened soon, then turned his attention to the slew of messages Arthur had sent him. Merlin almost didn’t want to look at them, figuring if he didn’t know what they said he could pretend things were fine, but he shook his head and dismissed the notifications for the nearly 40 missed calls, mostly from Arthur but a few from his friends, with a swipe of his thumb. He had several unopened voicemails that he didn’t want to deal with just yet, so he dismissed that group of notifications as well for the time being and instead turned his attention toward the texts.

The last received message from Arthur had been sent a few days prior, and read “I hope things are okay, I’m worried. I’m here if you need to talk.” The gnawing guilt that had been buried beneath the burning jealousy that consumed him hit Merlin full force and took his breath away for a moment. Arthur was a good friend, even if Merlin wanted him to be more, and he deserved better than to be ghosted when things got tough. Merlin scrolled backwards through the messages until he came to his own poor excuse for backing out of their holiday, then slowly scanned through Arthur’s replies.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Oh 😔  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I was really looking forward to this  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** But family is important, so you take care of what you need to  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’ll be here if you need me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Just let me know

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Ended up just cancelling things  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Didn’t see a point in going without you tbh  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Can you let me know that you’re alive?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** This silence is freaking me out a bit

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):**  
  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Saw this just now and thought of you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Figured you’d call me a nerd for laughing at it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hope you’re doing well

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hey guess what  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** “What, Arthur?”  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m all registered for uni  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** This is happening  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I can’t wait  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I wish you’d answer your phone so I could be excited over voice

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hey did I do something wrong?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** If I did, just tell me what it is and I’ll apologise

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Thinking about you, hoping you’re well

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I hope things are okay, I’m worried  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m here if you need to talk

Merlin’s guilt multiplied as Arthur’s messages took on an increasingly worried tone, and he shut his eyes to try and block it out for a moment. He hadn’t dealt with the situation well at all, and he hoped Arthur wasn’t too upset with him for dropping off the face of the earth. He moved to type a message, but shook his head and shut the text app.

Arthur deserved better after what Merlin had done to him. He opened the phone app and scrolled to Arthur’s contact, initiating a call before he could talk himself out of it. The ring of the connecting call made Merlin feel ill with anxiety and he almost hoped it would go to voicemail.

“Merlin?” Arthur said when he answered a second later. “Is everything all right?”

Merlin took a deep breath. “Hi Arthur,” he said, trying to inject a smile into his voice to alleviate Arthur’s worries. “I’m so sorry.”

“Just tell me that nobody died,” Arthur said. Merlin chuckled softly.

“Nobody died,” he said, and Arthur let out a loud breath.

“Good, good. Are you… well? Your family?” he asked. Merlin nodded, though Arthur couldn’t see.

“We’re all fine, I promise,” Merlin tried to reassure him.

“Great,” Arthur said. “You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to. I’m just glad to hear your voice. It’s been a long two weeks without your brand of idiocy in my life.”

Merlin laughed again, feeling the knot of anxiety in his gut loosen just a bit. “I missed you too, prat. I promise I won’t disappear like that again.”

“Well, good. Whatever went on, it’s particularly stupid to cut yourself off from people who care about you.”

Merlin hummed in agreement, blushing at the unspoken implication that Arthur cared and wanted to be there for him. Not that it wasn’t utterly obvious.

“I mean,” Arthur added awkwardly, “since every time I rang you it went straight to voicemail, I assume your phone was off. Nobody could contact you that way. Not just me.”

“How was your holiday with your boyfriend?” Merlin said to forestall any more awkward denials on Arthur’s part and stop his heart from garnering any hope from his words.

“Oh, err, I messaged you to tell you I cancelled it,” Arthur said. “You didn’t see?”

“Oh, I saw that a little while ago, yes,” Merlin said. “But you didn’t go and do anything different with him?” Merlin could feel a palpable discomfort between them, and hated it.

“About that,” Arthur said, clearing his throat and sounding uncomfortable. “I probably shouldn’t have even said anything about him honestly. We broke up about two days after you went radio silent.”

“What?” Merlin said dumbly.

“Truth is, I don’t think I was interested in him much to begin with,” Arthur said. Merlin couldn’t help but laugh brightly. The jealous butterflies that had taken up residence in his stomach quieted for the first time in weeks.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” Merlin said in a very not-sorry sort of way.

“Clearly,” Arthur said with a dry laugh.

“Sorry,” Merlin apologised again.

“You’re really not, but that’s fine,” Arthur said, and Merlin could hear the shrug in his voice.

“So what happened?” Merlin asked, pulling his legs up to hug against his chest. His heart felt light for the first time in two weeks and he couldn’t stop smiling, not caring even a little that it made him kind of a jerk to be happy about his friend’s misery.

“Honestly it was nothing. We went out a handful of times, but he’s the one that asked me originally. Turned out I wasn’t terribly interested in him that way. He was nice enough, though. I thought I might keep him as a friend,” Arthur said.

“You know you don’t have to say yes to every person who asks you out,” Merlin teased.

“I’m well aware,” Arthur replied. “But like I said, he was nice and I wanted to give it a shot.”

“What was his name?” Merlin asked, morbidly curious about his competition.

“Lance. He’s in the same masters programme I am,” Arthur said.

“Yeah you said,” Merlin replied. He took a deep breath and felt for the jealousy he thought he’d feel at the knowledge Arthur would be around this Lance bloke regularly, but felt only a buoyant relief.

“I almost can’t believe I’m going to be back in uni in a few weeks,” Arthur murmured.

“Must feel a bit unreal after everything that’s happened,” Merlin said.

“A bit,” Arthur agreed. “But also good. I feel as though my life is finally going where I want it to, and I’m not just being carried along with no control.”

After a few more minutes of ridiculous small talk, which went a long way to making Merlin feel as though things would really be okay between them, they rang off and he finally had a chance to breathe and process things. And to give himself a mental kick for not taking the opportunity to tell Arthur how he felt. It had been the perfect opportunity, where Arthur wasn’t in a relationship with anyone else, so Merlin wouldn’t be stepping on anyone else’s toes, romantically speaking.

At the same time, though, he knew that confessing straight away after Arthur had broken up with that Lance bloke, short though their relationship had been, didn’t necessarily paint Merlin in the best light. He figured he could push off that particular confession for a little while longer, perhaps wait until things were back to normal.

Merlin sent Arthur a string of memes, the stupidest ones he could find with the worst puns that would make Arthur do that pained groan that meant he hated it but also kind of loved it at the same time.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** These are awful  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** How dare you  
**Merlin:** I knew you’d like them 😇  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** But seriously, I’m glad to see you’re back to normal  
**Merlin:** Not quite, but getting there  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Good  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Don’t disappear like that again  
**Merlin:** I’ll do my best not to  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** See that you do

***

 **KingPendragon:** Are you kidding me?  
**BornToBeWyllt:** I have no idea what you’re talking about  
**KingPendragon:** There is no way you beat me by 150 points without cheating  
**KingPendragon:** Do you even know what abactor means? Or how to use it in a sentence?  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Does that matter?  
**KingPendragon:** Yes!!!  
**BornToBeWyllt:** You just really hate losing don’t you  
**KingPendragon:** I hate losing when my opponent is cheating  
**BornToBeWyllt:** You hate losing every time  
**KingPendragon:** I like to think I’m gracious about it  
**BornToBeWyllt:** All the whining and pouting I’ve put up with says otherwise  
**KingPendragon:** Did you cheat or not?  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Define “cheat”  
**KingPendragon:** I KNEW IT  
**BornToBeWyllt:** I didn’t admit to anything!  
**KingPendragon:** That’s exactly what someone guilty of cheating would say  
**BornToBeWyllt:** You’re really riled up about this aren’t you  
**KingPendragon:** Obviously  
**KingPendragon:** Are you going to admit it?  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Will you believe me if the answer is anything other than yes  
**KingPendragon:** No  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Then what’s the point?  
**KingPendragon:** The good feeling you get when you tell the truth  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Pass  
**KingPendragon:** Merlin………  
**BornToBeWyllt:** It’s really funny watching you twist yourself into knots over a game  
**KingPendragon:** Glad you’re finding amusement at my expense  
**BornToBeWyllt:** I might have used electronic assistance in the form of an anagram finder  
**KingPendragon:** I KNEW IT  
**BornToBeWyllt:** You said that already  
**KingPendragon:** Why the fuck would you cheat?  
**BornToBeWyllt:** I wanted to see what would happen  
**BornToBeWyllt:** I didn’t think you’d get this angry  
**KingPendragon:** I’m not angry, I’m disappointed  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Sure you are dad  
**KingPendragon:** Have you been cheating the whole time?  
**BornToBeWyllt:** No, just this time  
**KingPendragon:** You swear?  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Yes  
**BornToBeWyllt:** And if it’ll make you happy I’ll promise to never do it again  
**KingPendragon:** Please  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Done  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Now stop being upset please  
**KingPendragon:** You owe me a rematch to make up for it  
**BornToBeWyllt:** Fiiiiiiiine

***

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** My father is talking about getting the Christmas trip planned with his travel agent  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** How do I tell him that I’m not interested in going this year?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I think I’ve had my fill of the Bahamas to last the rest of my life  
**Merlin:** Hm, what a dilemma  
**Merlin:** Poor rich boy being dragged to a luxurious villa in a tropical paradise  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Excuse me, but who was it that was complaining about just that last year?  
**Merlin:** Whoever it was must have been a gigantic wanker  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** The biggest  
**Merlin:** Biggest something 😏  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You wish  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** But seriously, what do I say to him?  
**Merlin:** Why not just tell him you don’t want to go?  
**Merlin:** Being direct with him worked out really well for you last time you talked  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I mean yes, but that doesn’t stop the deeply ingrained anxiety over said conversations

Merlin bit his lip as he looked at his mobile’s screen, thumbs hovering over the keyboard ready to reply. He wanted to bring up the idea of the two of them taking a trip together over Christmas to make up for the summer trip that didn’t happen, but a holiday over Christmas felt very couple-y for two people that weren’t actually in a relationship.

 **Merlin:** What if you took a trip of your own, instead of going with your father?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** There’s an idea  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’ve never done a Christmas holiday by myself, though  
**Merlin:** Well you have time to think about things  
**Merlin:** No need to make any decisions right this second  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** It’s September, though  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Good accommodations over Christmas are difficult to find the later you wait

Merlin groaned, before sending a reply to try and stall Arthur from making a decision just yet, cursing himself again for not having told Arthur already about his feelings.

 **Merlin:** Well where do you think you want to go, if not the Bahamas?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m not sure  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Somewhere cold I think, in your honor 😛  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Canada maybe, or New York  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** So many Christmas films are set in New York  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I figure I should see it at least once  
**Merlin:** Hopefully it would be more Serendipity and less Home Alone 2  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Secretly a romcom aficionado, are we? 😏  
**Merlin:** The fact that you know it’s a romcom says a lot  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m not ashamed to say I’ve on occasion stolen my sister’s blu-rays for a good cry fest  
**Merlin:** You’re having me on aren’t you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You make it so easy  
**Merlin:** Prat  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** If you want me to live Serendipity, does that mean you want me to come back after Christmas with a new boyfriend? 🤔  
**Merlin:** Wait  
**Merlin:** That’s not what I said  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That’s kind of what you said  
**Merlin:** n o  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You want me to live in a romcom not a hijinx film  
**Merlin:** I mean what if you were with me instead?

As soon as he sent the message Merlin wanted to snatch it back, to unsend it, to go back in time ten seconds and not allow Arthur to goad him into blurting it out like that. He ground his teeth together as he tried to think of something he could say to salvage the situation, but he didn’t want to lie to Arthur either. He _did_ want to be with him romantically, and was tired of skirting around the issue for fear of letting something slip. With a groan of frustration, Merlin squeezed his eyes shut and tapped the corner of his mobile against his forehead repeatedly, hard enough that he was in danger of bruising himself. He was a bit afraid to see what Arthur would respond with, and when his mobile vibrated he nearly dropped it when his heart jumped into his throat.

It didn’t even make sense for him to be so nervous about screwing up. He and Arthur had spent nearly a week sleeping together as many times as humanly possible, then spent most of the rest of the following year getting to know each other as friends. It wasn’t as though Merlin were propositioning someone random in a pub or club. He had even proven to himself back in June that he couldn’t actually handle being just friends with Arthur, at least not with how out of control his emotions were. He literally had nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking this step.

He opened his eyes to look at Arthur’s reply.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Are you asking what I think you’re asking?  
**Merlin:** That depends on what you think I’m asking

The three dots that indicated Arthur was typing appeared and disappeared several times, making Merlin’s heart race with nerves, before his reply finally came through.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Are you saying you want to be with me?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Or am I misreading everything and you’re just saying you want to go on holiday with me as friends?  
**Merlin:** No it’s the first one  
**Merlin:** Partly the second one as well  
**Merlin:** But yes I am saying that I quite possibly have some strong feelings for you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** “strong feelings”  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m afraid I’m going to need you to elaborate  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** So I don’t get my hopes up here  
**Merlin:** Are you being thick on purpose?  
**Merlin:** Trying to wind me up?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I assure you I’m not  
**Merlin:** Right  
**Merlin:** Well  
**Merlin:** I’ve spent the last 9 months fantasising about being in a relationship with you  
**Merlin:** And when you told me you had a boyfriend back in June it sort of crushed me  
**Merlin:** Like a deep depression I had to be dragged out of sort of crushing  
**Merlin:** So what I’m saying is I want to *be* with you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** We don’t live anywhere near each other  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Long distance relationships are notoriously difficult  
**Merlin:** Is this you turning me down?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** No!  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** No no no no no  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** It’s not  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I just want you to be sure  
**Merlin:** Honestly when we were doing the holiday fling thing last year it already felt as though we were dating  
**Merlin:** It can’t be that big of a surprise that I’m into you considering our whole thing last Christmas  
**Merlin:** If we did this we would just be making things more official  
**Merlin:** I can handle distance  
**Merlin:** We’re practically in a long distance relationship as it stands, just without the sexting or phone sex or facetime sex or any sex at all really  
**Merlin:** Unless you count that horny drunk dial you did the night you told your father you wanted to leave the company  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** God don’t remind me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That was not my finest hour

Merlin was in the middle of tapping out a teasing reply when his mobile started vibrating with an incoming call from Arthur. His hands were shaking with residual adrenaline, so he was glad he could stop trying to type coherent messages with trembling fingers, but at the same time he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear Arthur’s voice just yet. Just in case Arthur had changed his mind and was calling to let him down.

“Hello?” he said in a tentative voice after finally deciding to accept the call before it went to voicemail.

“Tell me you want to be with me,” Arthur demanded.

“I want to be with you,” Merlin answered dutifully, his fingers squeezing his mobile tight. “The distance doesn’t matter to me.”

“I’ve never been in a long distance relationship before,” Arthur said.

“Me either,” said Merlin. “But we can figure it out. I think we’ve been doing fine at it so far.”

“It hasn’t been bad,” Arthur agreed. “But you did mention sexting, which would definitely perk things up.”

“One thing at a time,” Merlin said with a short laugh.

“I’m going to hold you to this sexting idea,” Arthur insisted.

“Leave off with the sexting, you horny bugger,” Merlin laughed. Arthur joined him, and they enjoyed a few moments of comfortable silence when they both calmed.

“So I suppose this leaves us as boyfriends,” Arthur said after a bit, and Merlin found himself nodding in agreement even though Arthur couldn’t see him.

“If that’s what you want, I do as well,” he said.

“Very much,” Arthur murmured. Merlin’s heart skipped a beat.

“We should go somewhere together for Christmas,” Merlin blurted. Arthur was silent for a moment, before he chuckled.

“It would definitely be fitting,” he said. “Considering how everything started.”

“Yeah I thought so,” Merlin said.

“I would very much like to go on holiday with you,” Arthur said. Merlin could hear the smile in his voice and it made him grin.

“Think about where you want to go, then,” Merlin said. “And we can start making plans.”

***

 **Merlin:** I have a confession to make  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** That doesn’t sound ominous or anything  
**Merlin:** Sorry  
**Merlin:** But after everything I figure starting this relationship off with full honesty is probably the best idea  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You’re not doing anything to alleviate the uneasy feeling  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** We haven’t even been in this relationship long enough to properly sext and I feel like we’re gearing up for a fight **Merlin:** Sorry  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** So what is it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Secret child?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Double life as a secret agent?  
**Merlin:** No that’s you and your James Bond-ass holiday choices  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😛  
**Merlin:** No it’s nothing catastrophic I hope  
**Merlin:** It’s just embarrassing and kind of immature of me  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I’m listening  
**Merlin:** Right  
**Merlin:** So  
**Merlin:** Remember when you told me you were seeing someone?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Yes?  
**Merlin:** And how a few weeks later I bailed on our Brighton trip?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** ...yes  
**Merlin:** There wasn’t really a family emergency  
**Merlin:** I was just unable to cope with you being out of reach  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Merlin that’s a really shitty thing to do  
**Merlin:** I know!  
**Merlin:** I know, I’m sorry  
**Merlin:** I knew it at the time, too, but I was just so broken up about it  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You bailed over text, so you couldn’t even talk to me about it?  
**Merlin:** I told you it was immature  
**Merlin:** Would it help if I told you I hated myself at the time?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Not really  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** You still did it  
**Merlin:** I know  
**Merlin:** I really regret it  
**Merlin:** I tried just being your friend and hoped I would get used to the idea  
**Merlin:** But jealousy and selfishness won and I almost lost you  
**Merlin:** And for a bit there I thought that if I couldn’t have you romantically then friendship wouldn’t matter  
**Merlin:** But I thought about it and I was completely wrong  
**Merlin:** Even if you decided you wanted to just be my friend and see other people I’d still want to be your friend  
**Merlin:** Because you’re a really good friend, and my life is better with you in it  
**Merlin:** It would hurt not being able to have you in all the ways I want you  
**Merlin:** But not having you at all would be even worse  
**Merlin:** Please say something  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I don’t know what to say  
**Merlin:** You could start by telling me whether I fucked everything up  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** It’s going to take me some time to process this I think  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** But I feel as if it’s something we can get past  
**Merlin:** Oh thank god  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Give me some time to think  
**Merlin:** Take all the time you need

***

Merlin spent the next several hours glued to his mobile, though he knew Arthur would probably need more time to think about what he’d been told. So when his phone vibrated later that evening, he picked it up expecting it to be Gwen and Freya’s latest discussion about the upcoming season’s rumoured Strictly Come Dancing contestants. Instead, he found a message from Arthur waiting for him.

 **Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I have some requests  
**Merlin:** Anything  
**Merlin:** What can I do for you  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Well firstly if you’re jealous or upset in future, you can talk to me about it. This whole year we’ve talked about practically everything  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I guess I just don’t understand why you felt you couldn’t talk to me about this  
**Merlin:** I know  
**Merlin:** I’m so so so sorry  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** And secondly perhaps you can do me the courtesy of talking about important things like this over voice at least, rather than text?  
**Merlin:** I hear you and will take that under advisement  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Merlin I’m serious  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Hard conversations aren’t any fun, but if we’re going to make this work then we need to be able to have them  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Especially with the distance  
**Merlin:** You’re right  
**Merlin:** I really do want this to work  
**Merlin:** I will do my best to be better at communicating  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** It’s definitely something we both can work on improving  
**Merlin:** ?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** While we’re in an honesty mood, I should probably confess that I’ve been…  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** I don’t want to say ‘pining’ but I don’t know how else I would say it  
**Merlin:** You’ve been pining? Over me?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** For practically the entire year  
**Merlin:** You couldn’t have said anything sooner??  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Like I said, we both need to work on our communication  
**Merlin:** For two people who talk a lot, we do sort of say very little a lot of the time, yeah  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Do we have a deal?  
**Merlin:** No more pushing you away without talking first, and important conversations happen over voice  
**Merlin:** Deal  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Good  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Anything else you want to confess while we’re at it?  
**Merlin:** No, I think I’m good now  
**Merlin:** I can sleep with a clean conscience  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Great  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Tell me what you’re wearing?  
**Merlin:** Are you seriously going to try sexting me after that?  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** Worth a shot 😏  
**Merlin:** Try again later, when the mood isn’t quite so… what it is  
**Arthur (Hot Bahamas Fling Guy):** 😏😏😏

***

 **Merlin:** guys help, what do I get for Arthur for Christmas  
**Gwen:** Oooooh, are you guys spending it together?  
**Gwen:** That’s so cute 🥺  
**Merlin:** Yeah, we are 😁 Which would be wonderful IF I KNEW WHAT TO BLOODY GET HIM  
**Freya:** oooh, are you going to london?  
**Merlin:** No, we decided on Oslo!  
**Gwen:** Oh my god!!!! That’s so romantic!!!!! 😍😍😍  
**Freya:** how do i get a rich boyfriend  
**Merlin:** Drown, apparently  
**Freya:** 🤔 i could do that  
**Gwen:** Oh my god, don’t even joke  
**Will:** why would you even want a rich boyfriend? What’s wrong with making an honest living?  
**Freya:** did you even read the convo? i want someone to whisk me away to oslo  
**Will:** you don’t need to be rich to be romantic  
**Freya:** of course not  
**Gwen:** (but it does help)  
**Freya:** right 😂  
**Merlin:** Can we get back to the issue here? What should I get him???  
**Will:** why are you worried about getting him anything at all if he’s that rich?  
**Merlin:** … because I like him? And want to get something to show him that?  
**Gwen:** Will, must you?  
**Will:** what? sorry if I’m not that worried about what rich boy gets for Christmas when he’s off making millions working at daddy’s company  
**Gwen:** Because it isn’t “rich boy” asking us, it’s MERLIN, our FRIEND  
**Freya:** seriously Will, do you ever take a day off?  
**Merlin:** Thank you, Gwen.  
**Merlin:** and Will, I told you he quit that job. He’s going back to uni to study history!  
**Gwen:** Maybe something personal to the two of you? Something to do with the Bahamas?  
**Will:** what? you didn’t tell me that?  
**Will:** he quit??  
**Merlin:** Hmmm, good idea. I’ll have to think about it. Ugh  
**Merlin:** And Will, yes I did tell you! Months ago  
**Merlin:** You just don’t listen  
**Merlin:** And yup. He started this term  
**Will:** huh.  
**Will:** well, your rich boy does have some balls on him, I’ll give him that.  
**Merlin:** 😏😏 Does he ever  
**Will:** gross  
**Will:** god I said no details.  
**Gwen:** I would like details please.  
**Freya:** 🙋♀️  
**Merlin:** 🤐  
**Freya:** merlin whatever you get him he’s going to love it because it’s from you don’t stress  
**Gwen:** Maybe you could make something?  
**Merlin:** Ugh, I’m doomed. 

***

Merlin grimaced as he forced himself to join Hunith downstairs to have a chat. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy chatting with his mum, it was more he didn’t enjoy disappointing her. He had waited nearly a month since officially starting a relationship and deciding to go away with Arthur for Christmas, but he knew that the longer he put off letting her know, the worse it would be. Uncle Gaius might have had the world’s most intimidating eyebrow of disapproval, but Hunith Wyllt definitely had the most guilt-inducing disappointment face.

Hunith looked up from chopping vegetables when he entered the kitchen, giving him a tired smile. She had just come home from a 12-hour shift and Merlin knew she had to be exhausted.

“Hi mam, did you need any help?” he asked, moving to stand next to her and pulling out another cutting board and knife.

“Always, with how much you eat,” she said with a laugh.

“You know I don’t mind cooking,” he gently scolded. She shook her head and bumped her shoulder against Merlin’s.

“Nonsense,” she said. “I know I won’t have you around much longer. Don’t think I don’t know you have your eye on doing your foundation training in London.”

“How could you know that?” Merlin asked, startled. He hadn’t told anyone about thinking of moving to London, not even Arthur.

“I know my baby,” Hunith said with a knowing smile. “So before you leave your old mam, let me take care of you a bit more.”

Merlin smiled back at her with a shrug as he set to peeling and dicing carrots for the curry she was making.

“Do we know what we’re doing for Christmas this year?” he asked after a while of silence, in what he hoped was a casual way.

“Uncle Gaius was hoping to go somewhere warm again,” Hunith said, bringing a bowl of diced potatoes to the sink to rinse them. “He’s speaking to a travel agent about booking a cruise to the Mediterranean or Hawaii, and he’s invited us along again.”

“Oh,” Merlin said.

“Now Merlin, I know that warm Christmases aren’t exactly your favourite thing, but Uncle Gaius is being very generous and I think it’s nice to let him have his way a bit. He’s so old, after all,” Hunith said.

“I know, mam,” Merlin said. “But I kind of have plans of my own this year.” He stared intently at his hands as he continued to cut carrots into methodical cubes.

“Oh you do, do you?” Hunith asked. Merlin risked glancing up at her, and saw her eyebrows raised in a fair approximation of Uncle Gaius’ intimidating eyebrows.

“Arthur and I were planning on going to Norway,” he said, his face flushing with embarrassed heat so suddenly he felt dizzy with it.

“Arthur and you, hm?” Hunith said with a slow smile. “Is this the same Arthur from last Christmas? The one you’ve been talking to all year?”

“Maybe,” Merlin muttered. He honesty hadn’t realised he had been so obvious about the whole Arthur thing, but he was learning that he wasn’t as much of an enigma as he fancied himself to be. A real disappointment, that.

“Well in that case I suppose it can’t be helped,” Hunith sighed, before pulling Merlin into a hug. Merlin had been taller than her since he was 13, yet she still somehow found ways to manhandle him around. He dropped his knife on the cutting board and hugged her back, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“I didn’t mean to abandon you at Christmas,” he said softly, and she shook her head.

“Don’t be silly darling boy. You’re not abandoning me. You’re starting a new adventure with someone you care for very much, and that’s a beautiful thought,” She pulled back to push herself on her tiptoes and kiss Merlin’s cheek. “Even if it makes me a little sad that I’m losing my little boy.”

“Oh shush, you aren’t losing me,” Merlin protested, embarrassed.

“I know,” Hunith said with a sparkling laugh. “I’ll think of it this way, at least this Christmas I won’t have the world’s grouchiest son spoiling the first day of my trip.”

“I said I was sorry about that,” Merlin groaned, pouting.

“So you did,” Hunith agreed. “Right. So this year Uncle Gaius and I will go somewhere warm and have the time of our lives, and you’ll go somewhere cold with your young man and cuddle naked for warmth.”

“Mam!” Merlin protested with a laugh.

“Just promise me you’ll bring him round in the new year so I can meet him?” she asked, putting a hand on Merlin’s cheek gently. Merlin nodded.

“I promise.”

“Good, then it’s settled,” she said with a firm nod.

“Sounds so,” Merlin said. He paused as he turned back to chopping veg, before glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “Now it’s your turn to have a holiday fling.”

“Oh you!” she said, smacking his arm. They both dissolved into giggles that rang through the house.

***

 **Merlin:** Oh fuck  
**Merlin:** Oh shit  
**Merlin:** I still don’t know what the fuck I should get for Arthur for Christmas  
**Will:** are you fucking kidding me  
**Will:** ?????  
**Merlin:** He’s fucking rich what the fuck do you get for a rich guy  
**Will:** fuck off out of here with your rich boy problems  
**Will:** I thought we were done with this when you asked the group last week  
**Will:** twpsyn  
**Merlin:** 🖕  
**Merlin:** Some best mate you are  
**Merlin:** Won’t even help me in my time of need  
**Will:** if this were an actual emergency I’d be there  
**Will:** it’s not tho so fuck off  
**Merlin:** See if I ever help you if you manage to land yourself a girlfriend  
**Will:** 😒  
**Will:** weren’t you telling us he’s a nerd?  
**Will:** get him something nerdy  
**Will:** nerds love that  
**Merlin:** Why are you being such a dick  
**Will:** because this guy broke your heart and I don’t like him  
**Will:** it wasn’t fun seeing you as a husk back in July  
**Merlin:** It wasn’t his fault  
**Merlin:** It was mine  
**Will:** doesn’t matter  
**Will:** you’re my mate so rules of mates says I need to hate the guy  
**Merlin:** 🙄  
**Merlin:** You’d probably like him if you gave him a chance  
**Will:** not happening  
**Will:** sorry not sorry  
**Will:** just give him a book or something  
**Merlin:** …  
**Merlin:** Huh  
**Merlin:** That’s actually brilliant  
**Merlin:** Thanks  
**Will:** uhhh  
**Will:** I wasn’t actually trying to be helpful but you’re welcome I guess  
**Will:** don’t let him break your heart again ok?  
**Merlin:** Can’t guarantee anything  
**Merlin:** But I’ll try  
**Merlin:** Oh btw you should take Freya to that cat cafe that just opened for Christmas  
**Will:** I don’t know what you’re talking about  
**Will:** who’s Freya  
**Will:** what’s a cat  
**Merlin:** Uh huh 😏  
**Merlin:** Twpsyn


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin bypassed customs since he had nothing to declare, rolling his suitcase behind him as he made his way to the meeting area. It was fairly busy, filled with people who had a similar idea as he and Arthur had for a more wintery Christmas holiday. He looked around, hoping to catch sight of Arthur who had come in a day earlier to secure what was apparently a desirable Airbnb for the two of them. He said he’d meet Merlin at the airport when he arrived.

The flight had only been two hours, which was much more tolerable than last Christmas’ flight, even though he had been stuck in economy again. But compared to a 10-hour flight to the Bahamas, Merlin would take the mild discomfort of the flight to Oslo. He stretched his neck, moving toward the far wall so he didn’t impede the flow of traffic behind him as he kept a lookout for Arthur’s blond head.

“Merlin!” someone half-shouted from Merlin’s left. Merlin spun around, nearly running into an elderly woman behind him.

“Oh, sorry,” he said sheepishly as she shot him a disapproving look. Arthur was set back in the crowd of people who were waiting for friends and loved ones to arrive, waving an arm over his head to get Merlin’s attention. He carefully moved out of the way of any other people so he wouldn’t hit anyone else, and headed in Arthur’s direction.

When they finally picked their way through the throngs of people, they stood looking at each other in a sort of breathless anticipation. Merlin didn’t know what to do, what would be appropriate in their situation. Their relationship was still new, and he didn't know how fast Arthur wanted to move. They slept together a few times on holiday last year, before they were friends so they weren’t exactly former-friends-with-benefits. But they were friends now, and had been for the entire year, much longer than they'd been sleeping together or in an official relationship combined. Merlin wished he and Arthur had talked a bit more about it so he could stop worrying about it.

“Hi,” he said, smiling. Arthur grinned back at him.

“Hi.”

Their relationship being what it was — in that semi-defined space early in official-ness — meant things were complicated, and Merlin stared awkwardly at Arthur as he tried to figure out whether a hug or a handshake was more appropriate.

“Err…” Merlin said, before Arthur rolled his eyes.

“For the love of god,” he murmured, throwing his arms around Merlin and pulling him into a kiss. It was much more chaste than any of the ones they’d shared in the Bahamas — something Merlin was glad for, since they were in public — but it also felt as though it held more promise. They slowly pulled apart before they drew any unwanted attention, and Arthur slipped his hand into Merlin’s, taking Merlin’s bag with his other. Merlin’s free hand crept up to wind self-consciously into the end of his scarf.

“It’s good to see you,” he said so softly that he was afraid his voice had gotten lost in the din of the other conversations happening around them.

“You too,” Arthur answered with a heart-melting smile. He led them toward a bank of lifts and hit the button.

“What have you been up to since yesterday?” Merlin asked as they waited for the lift to arrive. Two other people joined them in their wait, and Merlin smiled at them.

“Not a lot. I hired a car in case we wanted to explore out of the city, and I picked up some food since there was none at the cottage,” Arthur said as the lift doors dinged open.

“Oh, posh boy can cook?” Merlin teased. Arthur grimaced.

“Yes, well, ‘cooking’ is a very strong word for my culinary capabilities,” he said. Merlin laughed loudly as they boarded the lift. After sorting everyone’s required floors out, they stood in silence until they exited the lift a minute later.

“Well it’s a good thing for you that I can cook a bit then,” Merlin said, picking up the lagged conversation when they were clear of the lifts.

“Let’s make a deal,” Arthur said with a grin as he led them to where he had parked. “If I purchase all the food, you do all the cooking.”

Merlin lifted his hand to his forehead dramatically and groaned. “I’m on holiday here, and you expect me to cook? We could have booked a hotel and taken advantage of room service.”

“Ah but then you would have missed out on a more authentic Norwegian experience,” Arthur said. “And I don’t know about you, but I for one am sick of hotels at Christmas. I thought this would be more cosy.”

“You’re right,” Merlin said with a soft smile. “But I’m still going to complain about it. And there’s no way I am cooking meat, sorry, I’d probably just mangle it since I’ve never done it.”

“I expect nothing less,” Arthur said. “I can probably subsist on whatever vegetarian offerings you put in front of me for a week.” He sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically.

“That sounds dangerously close to you wanting to eat takeaway all week,” Merlin said with an exaggerated frown.

Arthur put his hands up and offered Merlin a conciliatory smile. “Not at all. I’m looking forward to it.”

Merlin smiled.

“And if it turns out to be inedible, _then_ we’ll talk about takeaway.”

“You prat!”

“What! I’m just saying, I’ve seen photos of those ‘creations’ you’re so proud of on Instagram!” Arthur laughed, moving out of Merlin’s range so he couldn’t hit him without chasing him.

“Arsehole! Clotpole! Cabbagehead!”

Arthur’s laughter rang through the carpark.

***

When they arrived at the cottage they had let for their two-week holiday, Merlin looked around in pleased awe. The cottage itself was located in a quiet part of the city, but close enough to walk to the city centre where all the Christmas markets and events were happening. The interior was open and airy, with a typical sort of Scandinavian-style to the furnishings and decorations. Wood painted white, cosy rugs over hardwood floors, everything in its place. The dining room adjoined the living room, with seating enough for six. But what drew Merlin’s attention was the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, decorated with baubles in a rainbow of colours and twinkling fairy lights. The listing on Airbnb hadn’t said the property would come decorated for Christmas.

“Wow, the owners really went all out, didn’t they?” Merlin said with a smile. Arthur shook his head.

“No that was me,” he said. “I came here yesterday so I could get food, and also for this. I wanted to surprise you since you missed out last year on your traditional Christmas,” he said. Merlin stared at him with his mouth hanging open, before dropping his bag at his feet and throwing his arms around Arthur’s shoulders.

“Sometimes you shock me with how thoughtful you are underneath the arrogant, posh exterior,” Merlin said against Arthur’s neck. Arthur rubbed his hands along Merlin’s back slowly.

“You sure do know how to make a guy feel appreciated,” he said teasingly. Merlin stepped away from the hug and put a hand on Arthur’s upper arm, squeezing it.

“Really, this is amazing. Thank you,” he said. Arthur looked away awkwardly.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to make it special,” he said quietly.

“It would have been, even without all this. But I love it,” Merlin said. “Show me around?”

“There’s isn’t much more to see,” Arthur said, taking Merlin’s hand and leaving both their bags in the entrance to the living room. “The kitchen is over there, and I got enough food to last for a few days so we don’t have to leave unless we want to. The bathroom is there,” he pointed at a closed door, “and the bedroom is over here.” Arthur moved in front of Merlin, turning around to face him as he walked them both toward the bedroom.

“Good bed, then?” Merlin asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Better with you in it,” Arthur said with a wink. Merlin laughed.

“Cheesy,” he teased.

“You love it,” Arthur shrugged.

“Mmm,” Merlin hummed noncommittally.

“There’s another bed in the loft if you prefer to escape my cheese,” Arthur sniffed, his back hitting the closed door of the bedroom. He reached behind him for the door handle, turning it to open the room.

“I love cheese,” Merlin said as he followed Arthur into the room, finding a large bed that Arthur hadn’t bothered making up before he left for the airport. Merlin pushed past Arthur to sit down, throwing himself backwards in a starfish position. “This is really nice,” he said. The mattresses dipped beside him as Arthur sat down, laying on his side to look at Merlin.

“I think it’s going to be a lovely holiday,” he said.

“My second one with you,” Merlin murmured. Arthur hummed.

“Merlin lifted himself up onto his forearms, leaning in to kiss Arthur softly. Their mouths opened, tongues touching tentatively, relearning each other after a year apart. Merlin moaned softly into the kiss, Arthur echoing him as he slipped a hand beneath Merlin’s jumper to touch his bare skin.

Their snog was interrupted, though, by the loud rumbling of Merlin’s stomach. They pulled apart laughing, Merlin covering his face with his hands.

“Sorry, I was in a rush this morning so I didn’t have much of a breakfast before leaving for the airport,” he said through his fingers. Arthur gently pulled Merlin’s hands away from his face to drop a kiss on the tip of Merlin’s nose.

“Let’s get some food into you, then,” he suggested. Merlin nodded.

“Guess it’s my time to show you I can actually cook,” he said.

“Judgement shall be reserved until results are seen,” Arthur said loftily. Merlin elbowed him in his side as they headed to the kitchen.

***

After eating — a lovely pasta primavera that Merlin was rather proud of and Arthur had devoured without complaint — they made hot cocoa and sat on the fluffy rug next to the gas fireplace set in one corner of the living room.

“This is really nice,” Merlin said, sipping his drink. Arthur nodded.

“It is,” he murmured, his hand tracing the length of Merlin’s spine in slow, long strokes. Merlin scooted closer to Arthur so their sides were aligned, his toes burying themselves into the pile of the rug’s fibres.

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Merlin asked. Arthur hummed thoughtfully.

“Honestly tomorrow we can do whatever you would like to do. I don’t have any plans for us until the 23rd,” he said.

“Oh?” Merlin raised his eyebrows. “What did you have planned for us?”

“I got us tickets to the Norwegian National Ballet. The Nutcracker,” Arthur said. Merlin made a face.

“Ballet? Is this what it’s going to be like, dating a posh bloke? Are we going to the opera, too?” he asked with a wrinkled nose. Arthur frowned at him without speaking for a long moment and Merlin squirmed, wondering if he’d offended him somehow. Before he could apologise, though, Arthur spoke.

“My mother used to take me to see the English National Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker when I was little. You know, before she…” he trailed off, and Merlin felt like a right arse.

“Oh. Wow, I’m really sorry Arthur;” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to—”

“I know,” Arthur said quickly, wrapping his arm around Merlin’s waist. “It’s fine.I just haven’t been since she died, since father is always dragging us to the Bahamas instead of staying home. And I thought it would be nice to share that with you.”

“I’d like that a lot,” Merlin said, setting his cocoa aside to wrap his arms around Arthur in a tight hug. “I don’t know anything about ballet, though.”

“You don’t have to,” Arthur said with a chuckle. “It’s a simple story I can explain to you if you need me to, and you can just try to enjoy the dancing. I thought it would be something easy for us to do, since it doesn’t require knowledge of Norwegian or anything.”

“True,” Merlin laughed, before leaning in to kiss Arthur’s lips softly. “It makes me happy you want to share these things with me,” he whispered when they parted.

“Yes, well, someone has to try and get some culture into your scruffy Welsh ass,” Arthur joked. 

“Snob,” Merlin pouted.

Arthur laughed again. “You want to know a secret?” Merlin nodded and Arthur leaned in so his mouth was nearly touching Merlin’s ear. It made him shiver. “I don’t much like ballet either.”

The seriousness with which Arthur made his confession left Merlin snorting with laughter. Arthur joined him, and soon they were both laying on their backs in front of the fire, looking over at each other with their hands brushing between their bodies.

“I can’t wait to see it, really,” Merlin said honestly. Arthur smiled at him. Slowly, they moved closer until they were kissing, wet and desperate. Arthur tugged Merlin’s jumper off over his head and Merlin worked at Arthur’s belt with shaking fingers.

When they were both naked their bodies moved together desperately, a sheen of sweat coating them from exertion and the heat from the fire. Neither of them noticed, so wrapped up in each other were they.

***

“That was definitely better than sex on the beach,” Merlin said later when they were both panting and sated. He reached out for his cocoa, which had gone tepid in the time it had been left out, surprised they hadn’t knocked it over in their haste to get at each other. “Not that the beach wasn’t nice,” he added.

“No, you’re right. The sand definitely makes things less worthwhile,” Arthur said, sitting up and running his hand through his mussed sex hair. Merlin let himself stare, watching the muscles ripple under Arthur’s skin enticingly.

“I’ll have to check off sex in front of a fireplace from my list of places I want to fuck,” Merlin said.

“There’s a list?” Arthur asked, surprised. Merlin shrugged before rolling over onto his side and pushing himself up onto his arm.

“Not a written one, no. But I have a few places I want to do it before I die,” he said with a grin.

“Now I have to know,” Arthur said. Merlin shook his head.

“You’re just going to have to wonder.”

“You’re a tease,” Arthur accused. Merlin shrugged again.

“You like it.” He rolled onto his back to sit up, and grimaced when his hand hit a wet patch on the carpet. “Did you pay an extra cleaning fee?” he asked. “Because I think this rug might need to be professionally cleaned after we debauched it.”

“It’ll be handled, don’t worry,” Arthur said with a wave of his hand.

“I could get used to this whole rich boyfriend thing,” Merlin smirked. Arthur snorted.

“Well seeing as I have no plans of going anywhere, you’re bound to get used to it,” he pointed out. Merlin grinned.

“Going back to what we were talking about earlier,” he said after a few heartbeats. “You want to check out the Christmas market tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Arthur said, pressing a kiss to Merlin’s temple. “It’ll probably be crowded, but it should be fun. We could also go skating, there’s a rink in the middle of the market.”

Merlin grimaced. “I hope you’re prepared to watch me fall down, I haven’t been skating since I was probably ten.”

“It’ll be fine, I’ll catch you,” Arthur promised.

“It’s a date, then,” Merlin said.

***

“So do you want to go skating first, or look at the market first?” Merlin asked as they strolled hand in hand toward the bustling Christmas market in the Spikersuppa neighborhood. Even outside the market there were hundreds of people scurrying around in a dash to do some last-minute shopping.

“Either sounds good,” Arthur said, squeezing Merlin’s hand fondly.

“Skating it is,” Merlin declared, steering them toward the centre of the market where the skating rink was located and straight into the queue for skate rental.

“I think I’m definitely ready for a break,” Merlin said an hour later, rubbing his arse after the latest fall on the ice as he made his way carefully to the edge of the rink and toward the exit. Arthur was snickering a few feet behind him.

“Just can’t take that I’m better than you, huh” he asked with a wide, shit-eating grin.

“Your definition of ‘better’ is skewed,” Merlin said, shaking his head as he carefully stepped off the ice and moved toward a bench to loosen the laces on his rented skates. Arthur didn’t answer immediately, and Merlin paused to look behind him in time to see Arthur fall down at the very edge of the ice.

“Don’t say a word,” Arthur groaned as he crawled off the ice and out of the way of anyone else who was trying to get on or off the rink.

“Who, me? What could I possibly say to that?” Merlin asked, fighting and failing to hide his grin.

“Whose idea was this again?” Arthur asked, loosening the laces on the ice skate boots with jerky movements.

“Aw come on, we had fun,” Merlin said, pulling their shoes out of his bag and tossing Arthur’s pair toward him. He put his own on, wiggling his ankles back and forth to try and work out the strain before picking up the skates to take back to the rental kiosk. He waited for Arthur, who stood after a minute with his own shoes back on his feet and skates tied together by their laces the way they had been when they’d received them from the attendant.

“I’ll admit to the smallest amount of fun, but no more,” Arthur said. Merlin rolled his eyes.

“You sure you should have left your father’s company?” he asked teasingly. “You have the give no quarter business sense bit down.”

Arthur made a pained face at Merlin, who just grinned and shrugged back at him.

“Why would you say things you know will hurt me,” Arthur said, clutching his heart and pretending to be mortally wounded.

“Your ego needs to be bruised now and again,” Merlin laughed. “So it doesn’t get too big to manage. Lucky for you, you have me to do damage control.”

“Lucky me,” Arthur repeated, deadpan.

They shoved each other back and forth with their shoulders all the way back to the rental kiosk.

“What do you want to do now?” Merlin asked once they were skate-free and ready to leave the rink area. “I saw a stand on our way in that was selling some sort of mulled wine I think. Or we could find someplace to eat, I’m starving.”

“You should definitely not drink warm wine on an empty stomach unless you fancy instant drunkenness,” Arthur said with a laugh. 

“It wouldn’t be that bad!” Merlin protested, but went along with Arthur as they set off to find a food stall that had something Merlin could eat.

They eventually came away with a treasure trove of candied almonds, about fifteen different types of biscuits, including one filled with whipped cream called a krumkake that looked more like an ice cream cone rather than a Christmas biscuit. There was even a stand selling churros that Merlin looked over at longingly, and Arthur leaned in to whisper “Later,” in a voice that made Merlin shiver.

“You can’t just say that that way,” he scolded. Arthur laughed.

“Why not?” Arthur asked, blinking in faux innocence. Merlin glared at him and shoved his arm.

“You promised me mulled wine,” he said with an expression he knew was bordering on a pout but didn’t care.

“Start eating your biscuits, I’ll be right back,” Arthur said. Merlin wandered over to a seating area and sat down, spreading their Christmas biscuit bounty across the table and eating the caramelised almonds one by one as he decided which biscuit to start with. 

By the time Arthur returned with two cups of wine and a bowl filled with something Merlin couldn’t tell what it was, he had devoured three out of four of the krumkake — they were delicate and crispy, lightly spiced with cardamom and completely addictive — and was about to tuck into what looked like shortbread biscuits.

“I’m shocked there’s anything left,” Arthur said dryly as he sat in the empty chair opposite Merlin and handed over one of the cups.

“It was a near thing with the little ice cream cone ones. I almost ate all four of them, they were really good,” Merlin said, pointing to the lone wafer filled with whipped cream.

“You must really love me if you held yourself back,” Arthur joked with a shake of his head. Merlin grinned at him, picking up his cup and taking a sip from the warm wine. It burst in his mouth with the sweetness of the red wine and the warm mulling spices, but unexpectedly he was also met with something else. He chewed, recognising the flavour of raisins and the crunch of some sort of nut.

Arthur must have seen his confused expression, because he shrugged. “Apparently these Scandinavians like raisins and slivered almonds in their wine. Gløgg. Whatever they call it.”

“Ah. ‘S good, though,” Merlin said, taking another drink. It warmed him from the inside, the heat and the alcohol working in tandem to make him feel the cosy Christmas warmth. “What’s in the bowl?” he asked, gesturing with his chin.

“They were selling some sort of rice pudding with strawberry sauce,” Arthur said, producing two spoons from his pocket and handing one over to Merlin, before quickly sweeping up the last krumkake and nibbling at the edge of it. “Oh, we are going back and getting more of these,” he said around his mouthful of cream and wafer.”

“They’re so good,” Merlin agreed, poking his spoon at the rice pudding, mixing the sauce into the creamy concoction. “These Norwegians really like their cream-based treats,” he observed.

“Who doesn’t like cream?” Arthur asked as he finished his biscuit and stuck his own spoon into the bowl, coming away with a heaping spoonful.

“The lactose intolerant,” Merlin pointed out. Arthur shrugged with a crooked smile.

“Good thing neither of us have that problem,” he said before shoving the spoon into his mouth. Merlin rolled his eyes fondly and followed his lead.

The creamy pudding was lightly sweet, flavoured with vanilla. The strawberry sauce was just tart enough to cut through the richness of the heavy pudding.

“Oh my god, why don’t we have this?” Merlin asked, taking another spoonful and moaning softly around it. “Why is everything here so good?”

“I could watch you eat that all day,” Arthur said, tapping his own spoon against his lips, his eyes glued to Merlin’s mouth.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, perv. We’re in public,” Merlin said with a wicked grin. “And start eating if you want your fair share.”

“Is that so?” Arthur asked. Merlin nodded, taking another large spoonful and shoveling it into his mouth.

“Better get going, Pendragon,” Merlin said with his mouth full.

“Disgusting,” Arthur said, looking intrigued. Merlin snorted.

“Hurry up, I want to go look at the other stands.”

When they had finished eating and had drained the last of their mulled wine and thrown the paper cups away, Merlin had set off towards the artisan booths intent on finding a gift for Hunith. Before he could get far, though, Merlin found himself veering off course against his will.

“Where are we going?” he asked, curious. Arthur pointed at a series of photo booths.

“I always wanted to try one of these things,” he said. “You know, with a boyfriend.”

Merlin laughed, charmed against his will. “Sure, come on then.”

Arthur dropped some kroner coins into the machine and they followed the instructions to get started. Merlin struck a couple-y pose, wrapping his arms around Arthur, but as the time counted down to zero, Arthur apparently decided he wanted an entire strip of kissing pictures. By the third one, Merlin was laughing and joining in with childish delight.

“Want to go again?” Arthur asked.

“To try and get some serious ones?” Merlin laughed.

“Not on your life,” Arthur said with a wicked smile, leaving the booth just long enough to feed more coins into the machine and hurrying back in to go through it all one more time. This time, Merlin was ready for Arthur’s playful kisses from the start, and he couldn’t wait to see how the pictures came out.

“If you want, I’ll wait here while the pictures are printed and meet you if you want to get started shopping,” Arthur offered. Merlin squeezed his upper arm and nodded.

“Don’t be too long,” he said.

Twenty minutes later, Merlin was contemplating a set of decorative wooden bowls painted with colourful rosemåling as a gift for Hunith. The woman running the stall had greeted him when he approached, offering to show him something, but left him to his own devices when he couldn’t make a decision to help other customers, telling him let her know if he needed help. Merlin hadn’t meant to annoy her, he just didn’t know whether or not he wanted to spend the money. The bowls were hand-turned and hand-painted and were beautiful, but expensive. He had been standing there so long staring at the crafts on offer that he had lost track of Arthur’s whereabouts. He had glanced over to the photo booths, but Arthur was no longer there and he had no idea where he had wandered off to. That is, until he came up behind Merlin and stole the knit cap from his head. 

“Hey!” Merlin exclaimed, reaching out to try and grab it back. The hat itself was threadbare, having survived being worn constantly for six winters, since the year Hunith had gone through a knitting phase and decided she wanted to make all his outerwear from then on. The phase had lasted that one year, and had yielded Merlin's hat and a sad-looking scarf that sat unused in the coat cupboard back home.

Arthur laughed and shoved something on Merlin’s head before he could see what it was. “Much better,” he said with a smug nod. Merlin reached up to pull whatever it was from his head, finding a thick, warm new woolen hat knitted in a typically-scandinavian looking blue and white snowflake pattern with a big fluffy fake fur bobble on it. He looked back at Arthur, who seemed pleased with himself and showed off the pair of matching mittens he wore.

“I had a hat already, Arthur,” Merlin laughed, putting the hat back on his head. “My mam made it for me back when I was a teenager.”

“It’s clearly seen better days,” Arthur said, tucking it away into a pocket of his ski parka where Merlin couldn’t easily get it back. “I’ll give it back later, I promise. But your ears were starting to look a bit chilly, and I saw the hat and thought of you.” Arthur’s cheeks were pink, whether from the temperature or the admission Merlin wasn’t sure. Either way, he felt warm at Arthur’s consideration of his comfort.

“And the matching mittens?” Merlin asked with a raised eyebrow. Arthur shrugged, slipping his arm through Merlin’s.

“You didn’t hear it from me, but someone told me that this guy you’re seeing has a secret sentimental streak,” he whispered against Merlin’s ear.

“Is that so?” he asked.

“Mm, seems so. But don’t try to confirm it, he’ll just deny it.”

“My boyfriend sounds like a bit of a prat,” Merlin teased.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Arthur argued. “He’s definitely trying.”

“Well yes, I’ll give you that,” Merlin replied. “He is trying very hard.” He leaned in to brush a quick kiss across Arthur’s lips. “Do you think my mam would like these?” Merlin asked after pulling back and pointed at the bowls he’d been considering for the past ten minutes.

“Well seeing as I’ve never met her I couldn’t say for sure. But they do look nice, and I figure mums like handmade gifts like that,” Arthur said. “My mum would probably like them, I think. If she…”

Merlin took Arthur’s hand and squeezed it to let him know he didn’t have to say anything else. That Merlin understood.

“Well I’ll get them, then. And they can be from both of us,” he said in a firm voice.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to say that,” Arthur said awkwardly.

“I’m going to, though,” Merlin said with a bright grin, gesturing to the woman running the stall to wrap the bowls up before reaching for his wallet. “Didn’t I tell you? She wants to meet you as soon as you can manage to get away.”

“Wait, she wants to meet me?” Arthur said. Merlin could practically hear him swallow nervously. “Don’t you think that’s a bit… soon?”

“Well in her eyes, we’ve known each other for a year, so she’s been patient about it.”

“Oh god, she knows about last year?” Arthur asked, looking green.

“I mean, not the finer details, but she knows that I met someone when we were on holiday, and that I kept in touch with him. She did the math herself when I told her I was going to Norway this year instead of on a cruise with her and Uncle Gaius,” Merlin said, shrugging. Arthur fidgeted, looking highly uncomfortable as Merlin finished purchasing the bowls and took the plastic bag from the seller. “It’s going to be fine, Arthur, breathe,” he joked.

“I’ve just never been to the stage of a relationship where I meet parents, is all,” Arthur choked out. Merlin patted Arthur’s shoulder, moving them toward the next stall, when he saw Arthur pale even further. “Oh god, does this mean I should introduce you to Uther?”

“Uther? You mean your father?” Merlin asked. He knew Uther loved Arthur and wanted the best for him, but the thought of Arthur’s father still intimidated the hell out of him. “Well… you don’t have to. Just because my mam wants to meet you doesn’t mean you have to rush things on your end if you aren’t comfortable with it just yet. I mean I won’t be offended or anything if you wanted to put it off for a few months. Or a few years…”

“Merlin Wyllt, are you afraid of my father?” Arthur asked, breaking into Merlin’s nervous ramble. His colour was better and he was smiling, and Merlin wanted to be annoyed that his pain had made Arthur feel better but he was just happy that Arthur had perked up.

“I’m not afraid of your father, I haven’t even met him,” Merlin said. “I just… well let’s just say you’re not the only one who has never had a relationship get serious enough to meet parents.”

“Well we can push that meeting off a while yet, I think,” Arthur said. Merlin’s shoulders sagged as the tension he hadn’t realised he was holding in them left his body in a rush.

“Sounds fine to me,” he said. “But just in case, maybe I should get something for him for Christmas. You can give it to him for me.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Arthur argued, but Merlin grabbed his hand to lead him down the row of wooden booths filled with beautiful handmade trinkets.

“It’ll be fun, come on!”

***

Later that afternoon as the light faded from the sky they returned to the cottage after exploring what the town had to offer, beating a heavy snowstorm by fifteen minutes. They laughed and jostled each other as they removed their outdoor clothing in the entryway, Merlin shaking snowflakes out of the hair his knitted bobble cap didn’t cover.

“I think I need a hot shower to be able to feel my toes again,” Merlin laughed. Arthur gave him a look, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Would you care for some company?” he asked. Merlin offered him a crooked sort of come-hither smile before racing toward the bathroom, Arthur hot on his heels. Merlin stripped himself down as he went, leaving a trail of clothing between the entry and the bathroom, and Arthur cursed as he tripped over Merlin’s discarded t-shirt.

“Sorry!” Merlin called back as he skidded into the door frame of the bathroom, Arthur crashing into him gently. He put his hands on Merlin’s hips, letting them slide around to impatiently open the button of Merlin’s jeans. Merlin’s cock was already half-hard and he covered Arthur’s hands with his own as he pushed the jeans down his hips and to the floor.

“You can make it up to me,” Arthur said against his ear. Merlin shivered — definitely not from the lingering chill of the outdoors clinging to him — and resisted the urge to shove Arthur against a wall and devour him. He pulled Arthur into the bathroom to set the shower running and heat the water, turning around in Arthur’s embrace to finish undressing him so their goose-pimpled skin could press together as their bodies moulded against each other when their mouths found one another. The shower was almost an afterthought; they warmed each other just as well as the hot water did.

When they finally exited, well-sated, clean and warm, Merlin found himself lying on the sofa with his head pillowed on Arthur’s lap. Arthur’s hand slowly ran through Merlin’s damp curls and Merlin sighed contentedly.

“So how does it feel being back in uni?” Merlin asked to break the silence. It was a comfortable silence, but he also felt they should be using this alone time together to get to know each other as two members of a couple. They knew each other fairly well based on text messages, phone calls and video chatting, but Merlin wanted to make sure the chemistry he felt extended to physical proximity as well. To make sure that their fling in the Bahamas wasn’t all physical, that he wasn’t misremembering what he had felt the previous Christmas.

“It feels really good,” Arthur murmured, lowering the book he had been reading. It was one of the books that lived on the shelves in the cabin, and Merlin had been surprised when Arthur found something in English to read. He had expected everything to be in Norwegian.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Arthur had told Merlin with a light, teasing flick to one of Merlin’s ears, “Most Norwegians speak great English.”

“I’m glad you don’t have any regrets,” Merlin said softly, and Arthur’s hand in Merlin’s hair paused for a moment before resuming stroking.

“None whatsoever,” Arthur said firmly, making Merlin smile. “I’ve only just begun the programme and I’m already happier than I ever was in the business programme. And even if I do sometimes wish I’d never left uni to work at my father’s company instead of continuing immediately for my masters, even that experience was important to make me realise that life isn’t for me. If I didn’t try, I would always wonder. And it showed me my father does honestly have my best interests at heart, even if he was always strict with me growing up.”

“Parents usually do, even if they can be misguided sometimes,” Merlin said. The fingers running through his hair were relaxing him even more than the orgasm and hot shower had; he let his eyes close.

“I sense there’s a story of misguided parental interests,” Arthur murmured. Merlin laughed, turning onto his back to open his eyes and look up at Arthur. The light caught him in such a way that he could see the bristles of Arthur’s five o’clock shadow on his chin. He resisted the urge to reach up and rub at it.

“Let’s just say my mother tried to set me up with many a ‘lovely neighbor’s son’ after I came out to her,” Merlin said, making air quotes with his fingers and pulling a face.

“Oh no,” Arthur said, cringing with his whole body. “That must have been the pinnacle of embarrassment.”

“You have no idea,” Merlin said, shaking his head before burying his face in Arthur’s stomach at the memory of Hunith’s matchmaking efforts. “The strangest part of the whole situation was that she never tried to set me up with any neighbors’ daughters, the matchmaking only started when I told her I was gay.”

“She probably wanted to make sure her baby was happy and be supportive,” Arthur shrugged.

“You’re probably not wrong,” Merlin said, “but Cardiff is hardly some remote Welsh village. It wasn’t as though I needed help finding other gay blokes.”

“Parents are strange,” Arthur said, as if that explained it. Merlin figured it was as close to an explanation as anyone ever got.

“So your father was surprisingly supportive and you’re enjoying your classes. But do you know what you want to do when you’re finished your masters?” Merlin asked. Arthur leaned back against the back of the sofa and let his head fall backwards, draping his arm over the top of the cushion as he thought about it. The hem of his shirt rode up, exposing a sliver of Arthur’s belly that Merlin had to try very hard not to lean in and lick.

“I think I’d like to be a teacher eventually,” he said after a while. “Or stay in academia. I’m going to take some medieval literature courses, see if the combination of history and literature can tempt me.”

“Huh, I honestly would have thought you would have studied the golden age of piracy or something, you were so enthusiastically nerdy about it last year,” Merlin said, tracing a finger over the bare skin revealed to him in arching loops and whorls.

“That’s more of a hobby for me,” Arthur said, visibly suppressing a shiver at Merlin’s touch. “I don’t want to wreck it by making it my job.”

“Sensible,” Merlin said with a teasing grin.

“One of us has to be,” Arthur shot back, lifting his head and opening his eyes just enough to shoot Merlin a heated look.

“Read to me?” Merlin said, ceasing the caresses and dropping his hand. Arthur raised his eyebrows at the request, but sat up and opened the book he had been reading to where his finger had saved his place. For the next hour, Merlin drifted in a half-doze to the sound of Arthur’s soothing tenor reading Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood.

When he became aware of Arthur’s voice petering out, Merlin opened his eyes to look up at him.

“Why did you stop?” he asked.

“Were you actually listening?” Arthur replied. Merlin gave him a lazy grin and shook his head.

“Not really. But the sound of your reading voice was nice,” he said, just to watch the way Arthur’s cheeks turned pink. “You should do that for a living.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Arthur said, setting the book aside and leaning over Merlin to steal a soft, lingering kiss from him. Merlin eagerly reciprocated, trying to push himself up to deepen it, but Arthur kept an arm on his shoulder to keep Merlin in place, letting the kiss stay on the side of sweet without moving to sultry. It was kissing for kissing’s sake, not meant to lead to anything more.

Merlin found he liked it very much.

When the kiss ended and they parted, Arthur gave him a soft, fond smile. Merlin echoed it.

“Tell me a secret,” Merlin murmured, and Arthur stared down at him in confusion.

“A secret? Like what?” he asked.

“I don’t know, something nobody else knows. I’m sure you know what a secret is, clotpole,” Merlin teased.

“Hmm,” Arthur hummed, his hand petting through Merlin’s hair once more. Merlin sighed happily. “I drove to Cardiff in August to see you,” Arthur finally said in a voice so soft Merlin almost didn’t hear.

“What?” he asked, surprised. “You did? I don’t remember this.”

Arthur cleared his throat uncomfortably, squirming in his seat and jostling Merlin around. “I never actually saw you. Halfway down the M4 I realised I don’t know where you live, so I drove to the university even though the term hadn’t started yet.”

Merlin’s smile grew with each word Arthur uttered. “Arthur Pendragon, you stalker,” he said, surprised and pleased. Arthur grumbled and shoved gently at Merlin’s face to try and stop him from saying anything else, but it didn’t work. Merlin’s stomach flipped with happiness at the thought of Arthur being unable to stand not seeing him for a moment longer and making the trip despite his lack of information. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have given you my address. Or met you somewhere.”

“I was embarrassed, I suppose,” Arthur said. “You would have laughed at me.”

“I would not have!” Merlin protested. Arthur gave him a pointed look. “Right I probably would have. But it would have been out of love, I swear.”

Arthur looked skeptical, but shook his head. “I didn’t stay long, I parked in the carpark, sat there for about 20 minutes, then turned around and drove home feeling like an idiot.” He laughed self deprecatingly. “How’s that for a secret?”

“I think it’s sweet,” Merlin said, reaching up to cup one side of Arthur’s face with his hand. “I wish you had said something, but it all worked out.”

“It did,” Arthur agreed. A comfortable silence fell between them, and Merlin couldn’t help but smile besottedly at Arthur.

“So…” Arthur asked after a long moment of exchanging soppy smiles, “what’s for dinner?”

Merlin pinched Arthur’s side, drawing a yelp out of him. “Way to ruin the moment, prat.” He pushed himself up from Arthur’s lap, making a face at him as Arthur laughed.

***

The lights in the cottage living room were off except for the fairy lights on the tree, giving the whole room a cosy seasonal feel to it. Merlin and Arthur were snuggled up on the couch, enjoying a quiet evening together after a dinner of a thrown-together moussaka Merlin had been praying would actually come out. Arthur had seemed to like it, but Merlin had a sneaking suspicion that he was being nice about the entire thing. It was sweet in a way, though Merlin would rather find out sooner than later if Arthur had an aversion to aubergines. From where he was snug under Arthur’s arm, he could see the small package he had secreted under the tree whilst Arthur was doing the washing up. He was still smiling to himself when Arthur cleared this throat.

“What if we drive out into the mountains to go skiing one day? There are a few resorts near here that are supposed to be pretty good,” Arthur said, breaking the comfortable silence. Merlin pushed himself away from Arthur just far enough to give him an unimpressed look.

“What part of what you’re looking at makes you think I could put on skis and not end up with a broken everything?” Merlin gestured with a sweeping hand at his entire body. Arthur’s eyes followed the motion, giving Merlin an appreciative look that made him preen internally.

“We’d go on the beginner slopes,” Arthur said. Merlin shook his head.

“Arthur, I nearly drowned last year in what looked like smooth water,” Merlin reminded him. “I’m not exactly the athletic type.”

“Yes that was particularly stupid, wasn’t it?” Arthur mused, kissing Merlin’s temple. “But this year you have me with you.”

“No.” Merlin shook his head. He didn’t fancy ending up in hospital with a broken ankle, or clavicle, or anything really.

“Snowboarding?” Arthur asked. “I hear that’s slightly less complicated.”

“No.” Merlin shook his head again.

“Drinking cocoa by the lodge fire?” Arthur suggested with a wide-eyed, hopeful look that Merlin had a hard time resisting.

“...Maybe.” Arthur grinned in triumph, and Merlin had a feeling that he would regret giving in that little bit. “I refuse to subject myself to throwing myself down a mountain strapped to wooden poles, though. No matter how much you ask,” Merlin reminded him.

“Mmhmm,” Arthur hummed, already on his mobile looking up what Merlin assumed was information about the resort he wanted to visit.

“Seriously, Arthur. Don’t make me regret this,” Merlin warned.

“I won’t,” Arthur said, looking up from his mobile long enough to press a quick kiss against Merlin’s lips.

***

After a leisurely lie-in the next morning, Arthur had done enough additional convincing with his mouth and fingers that Merlin now found himself in the rental car on the way to a luxury ski lodge with a grudging promise to at least try it. He let out a dramatic sigh and stared out the window at the snowy landscape passing by.

Arthur, who was still looking smug, just laughed at him. 

“Do you really hate just the _thought_ of skiing that much?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just,” Merlin waved his hands around and made a frustrated noise. “I don’t know. When you’re a kid it’s like it doesn’t matter, you just go out and play in the snow with your mates and throw snowballs at each other and build snowmen and it’s _fun_. But once you’re an adult it’s like you have to have some kind of _sport_ attached to play in the snow for it for it to be acceptable. And I’m rubbish at sport, so it stops being fun.” 

Arthur hummed thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense. Though I can’t relate, as I’m excellent at sport.”

“Shocking,” Merlin said with an eye roll. 

They drove in silence for several moments before Arthur made a sharp left off the main road. 

“Arthur?” Merlin asked, sitting up straighter. “Are we lost?”

“No, nothing like that, I just thought I saw …” he trailed off, cursing to himself for a moment before crowing, “Ah ha!” and pulling into a small park off of the side-road. 

“What is this?” Merlin asked, looking around the empty field. Arthur grinned at him. 

“We’re going to play in the snow.” 

“Really?” Merlin felt an answering grin spread across his own face. “What about skiing?”

“Sod skiing,” Arthur declared. “I decided that what I really want is to beat you in a snowball fight.” 

“Oh you’re on then,” Merlin said. He leapt from the car and sprinted into the field, Arthur hot on his heels. For all the agility Merlin lacked, he was quick, and he managed to nail Arthur with a snowball to the shoulder before he even made it to the snow. 

“You’ll pay for that,” Arthur roared playfully, scooping up a double armful of snow and lumbering toward Merlin. Merlin just laughed and aimed his next snowball at Arthur’s hip just before Arthur crashed into him. The both toppled to the ground laughing, Merlin shrieking with laughter as the snow poured over him. 

Hours later, they had ended their snowball fight with a truce, built a snow fort, made snow angels, and constructed a pair of snowmen. Merlin had insisted on letting the snowmen wear their matching hat and mitten for a photo before they had retreated back to the car, exhausted, wet and freezing, but happy. 

“That was so much fun,” Merlin said, grinning at Arthur as he fastened his seat belt. “All I’m missing is my mam waiting at the door with hot chocolate and biscuits.”

“Well,” we did pass a cafe on the way here,” Arthur said, his eyes raking shamelessly over Merlin’s flushed skin and bright eyes. “Or… we do have hot chocolate and a fireplace back at the cottage?”

Merlin smiled and leaned in for a lingering kiss. 

“Back to the cottage it is.”

***

Although he wouldn’t dream of mentioning it to Arthur, Merlin had been quietly dreading going to the Nutcracker ever since he had found out Arthur had tickets. He was all for arts and culture, but going to the ballet just seemed so dreadfully posh and boring. He’d much rather go out for a long lingering meal that was more foreplay than sustenance, or even just stay in for the night. But Arthur looked so excited every time he mentioned the show that Merlin was determined to put on a good face for his sake. 

After they’d eaten a quick dinner at the Airbnb and gotten dressed — Merlin had to admit that one benefit to the ballet was getting to see Arthur in one of his perfectly tailored suits — they headed into town. The opera house was a strikingly modern building that seemed entirely composed of glass and sweeping angled pathways made of marble. The warm yellow light glowing from the building reflected beautifully on the rippling water of the fjord and Merlin couldn’t help squeezing Arthur’s hand. Arthur, who looked as charmed as Merlin felt, squeezed back and led them up one of the pathways to the entrance. 

Once they’d given their tickets, they passed through the massive glass foyer, wound their way through the wood-paneled corridors into the auditorium, and were seated in the Orchestra section. When they’d settled into their seats, Merlin couldn’t help craning his head around to stare. Above them were three horseshoe shaped rows of balconies full of people shuffling into their seats. With the perfect acoustics Merlin felt as though he could hear each little conversation folding into one buzzing murmur of activity. The stage curtain was made of a crumpled metal foil, which reflected light from overhead back into the room. Merlin was gazing straight up at the glowing oval chandelier when the orchestra started tuning up, sending a little ripple of excitement through the auditorium. 

Merlin glanced at Arthur, who was studying the program with a serious expression on his face, and felt a wave of fondness wash over him. He leaned into his side a bit, resting his chin on Arthur’s shoulder and receiving a quick kiss in return. The lights started dimming and Merlin settled back, prepared to mentally replay some of their steamier scenes from their holiday so far in his head to keep himself entertained until the dancing was over. 

But as soon as the curtain lifted, revealing the soft colours of the dream-like set, Merlin forgot all about ballet being too posh for him and was swept up in the magic. Much of the music was surprisingly familiar to him, and he watched as dancers pranced and floated across the stage, telling the story with their bodies. He was so wrapped up in the beauty of the dancers and the strikingly beautiful set design that when the curtains fell for intermission he blinked in surprise. He joined the audience in clapping, and when the murmuring had picked back up again, Arthur leaned over to speak in his ear.

“How do you like it so far?” 

“I love it,” Merlin answered truthfully. 

“Really?” Arthur looked surprised but pleased.

“Yes, really. Only don’t tell my best mate Will, he’ll never let me live it down.”

Arthur laughed the laugh that crinkled up the corners of his eyes and when the lights went down for the second act, he took Merlin’s hand in the dark. 

On their walk back to the Airbnb, Merlin couldn’t stop exclaiming about how much he’d enjoyed the show. Of course, he’d been planning to tell Arthur how wonderful the show was no matter what, but the fact that he _had_ actually enjoyed it was a welcome surprise. 

Arthur, who would have been well within his rights to look smug, only smiled softly at Merlin whenever he started up again on the costumes, or the sets, or some point in the plot. 

“Thanks for taking me,” Merlin said at last, bumping his shoulder into Arthur’s and squeezing his mittened hand. “I’m so glad we went.” 

“Me too,” Arthur said. “I never… well, I didn’t think it would ever feel the same for me after mum—” he took a steadying breath and Merlin leaned in enough to let Arthur feel the weight at his side. “But tonight got pretty close.” 

Neither of them said anything for a while, but Merlin noticed that Arthur pulled out his mobile twice and once pulled off a mitten to tap at the screen. If he meant to hide his grin, Merlin thought he did a bad job of it. Luckily he didn’t have to wait long to see what Arthur was plotting. When they got to the cottage, he stayed on the pavement and tugged Merlin’s hand toward the rental car. 

“Come on,” he said, “I want to show you something.” 

“Heard that one before,” Merlin joked, but he climbed into the car obediently. As Arthur navigated them out of the city, Merlin turned the heat to full blast then fiddled with the car’s radio system until he found what sounded like Christmas music in Norwegian. He leaned the car seat back and bit, letting the heat and soft crooning music wash over him. He must have dozed, because the next thing he knew, Arthur was shaking his shoulder gently. When he startled awake, Arthur laughed and kissed him. 

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, looking giddy with excitement for whatever they were here for.

“My eyes were closed,” Merlin complained, but did as he said. Arthur got him out of the car then held his hands to lead him. Merlin thought they must be a ways out of the city, because all he could hear was the rush of the wind past his ears and the sound of the snow crunching under their boots. 

“Can I look now?” Merlin asked, thinking that Arthur was being awfully dramatic for what was presumably some star gazing. 

“Yes,” Arthur said breathlessly, and when Merlin opened his eyes, he found himself breathless too. 

They were standing at the edge of a field with the starry night sky sprawled out all around them, but at the edge of the horizon, there was a bright shimmering of green lights. Merlin sucked in a breath as the lights rearranged themselves, seeming to dance across the sky.

“Oh my god! The Northern lights? How did you know they’d be showing?”

Merlin turned to look at Arthur, to make sure he was seeing the breathtaking sight that he was, but found his eyes instead fixed on Merlin and full of naked adoration. Merlin felt his cheeks heat and turned back to the lights in the sky before he said something stupid. 

“I didn’t,” Arthur admitted, sliping an arm around his waist. “At all. It’s pretty rare they get this far south, but I hoped we might catch them. I got this app that sends alerts when they’re active and, well — we got lucky.”

“We got extremely lucky,” Merlin said softly, leaning into Arthur’s warmth but keeping his eyes fixed on the ethereal sight before him. 

They stayed watching the lights move across the sky in undulating patterns, taking some photos and talking softly in the hush of the night. When they were shivering too hard to ignore it anymore, they reluctantly headed back to the car. 

“Thank you so much for this,” Merlin said once they were buckled in. “This trip really has been magical. I can’t imagine a more perfect Christmas.” 

“What, being rescued from drowning wasn’t magical enough for you?” Arthur said as he pulled back onto the road from the park they’d stop in.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Merlin groaned, burying his face in Arthur’s shoulder. He felt a kiss pressed to the top of his head and grinned into Arthur’s coat. “This is much better.”

***

On Christmas morning, Merlin awoke early with a soft groan and turned his face to bury into the pillow. He arched his back to stretch, feeling Arthur’s body pressed up against him with a proprietary arm thrown over his waist. Merlin smiled, and thought about closing his eyes and sleeping for another couple of hours with the warm contentment of being wrapped in the arms of his boyfriend, but he had promised Hunith he’d call her when he woke.

“Arthur, I have to get up for a few minutes,” Merlin murmured, lifting Arthur’s arm to slip beneath it and out of the bed. Arthur woke enough to make a disgruntled noise and tighten his grip, pressing his morning erection against Merlin’s arse. It was tempting to stay when he was presented with such compelling reasons to do so, but he smiled and groaned as he poked Arthur’s arm.

“Come on, I promised my mam I’d call her,” he said. Arthur nuzzled against the back of Merlin’s ear, before brushing dry lips across the shell of it.

“Stay,” he slurred, clearly still mostly asleep. “I’ll make’t worth’t.”

Merlin laughed softly. “I’ll be back before you’re even awake enough to make anything worth it. I promise.” He finally extricated himself from Arthur’s arms and sat on the edge of the bed with a yawn, picking up his pyjama trousers with his toes to pull them on. He cast about for a moment looking for his boxers, but gave up fairly quickly with a mental shrug. Arthur had thrown them somewhere the night before, and he wouldn’t be surprised to find them behind the door or underneath the bed. He was only partially dressing to ward off the chill of the Norwegian December morning. He fully planned on getting naked again to crawl back into bed with Arthur and wrap their bodies tightly together when he had finished his call. He grabbed his mobile before Arthur’s sleepy grabby hands that were clumsily pawing at his waist could do anything to stop him. He walked from the bedroom out into the living room to sit on the edge of the sofa as he dialled his mother to wish her and uncle Gaius a merry Christmas.

“Merlin?” Hunith said when she answered several rings later. There was a low hum of activity, voices and music, in the background; she must have stepped away from whatever she was in the middle of to take the call. “How is your holiday going?”

Merlin smiled, and wrapped an arm around himself. It was chilly, the fire had burnt itself out before they had gone to bed the night before and the coals were stone cold. Merlin stood long enough to turn the radiator on. It rumbled quietly to life as he sat back down on the sofa.

“Hey mam, merry Christmas,” he said. “Are you and uncle Gaius having a good time?”

“Merry Christmas cariad!” Hunith exclaimed. “We’re having a lovely time. You probably wouldn’t be, though, so it’s much better that you aren’t here.”

“Oh is that so!” Merlin said, playing at being offended. “I see how it is, my own mam trying to get rid of her son for the holidays. How many hearts have you broken so far?”

“Oh goodness, none I hope!” Hunith said. “Though there is this one handsome gentleman who has been making eyes at me when our paths cross… But your uncle Gaius has met a lovely retired woman from Leeds, seems as though the Wyllt men are destined to get lucky on holiday.”

“Mam I really don’t want to know about uncle Gaius getting lucky,” Merlin groaned. “What’s stopping you, then?”

“Please, I’m much too old for a holiday fling,” Hunith said, and Merlin could imagine her waving her hand in front of her dismissively. He shook his own head even though she couldn’t see it.

“Now that’s just not true,” he disagreed. “You’re much too young for such defeatist thinking. You’re a lovely nurse in her prime, and you deserve a bit of fun on holiday.”

Hunith laughed. “Mm, perhaps. We’ll see.”

Merlin was about to set about convincing his mother she should let go and live a little, when a pair of arms encircled him from behind and ran lightly over his chest, raising gooseflesh.

“How is your own holiday going?” he heard Hunith ask as he let his head drop back to look up at Arthur, who was looking down at him with sleepy but purposeful eyes.

“It’s fine,” Merlin said, trying not to choke as Arthur started kissing his neck and flicking his tongue out. “We’re mostly staying in, but we explored the Christmas market the other day.”

“I’d much prefer exploring other charms,” Arthur whispered against Merlin’s ear as one hand slipped beneath the waistband of his pyjamas to press the heel of his hand against Merlin’s half-hard cock. Merlin bit back a moan and completely missed what Hunith was saying to him.

“Oh, uh huh,” he said, hoping she had said something that could conceivably be an answer to. Arthur wrapped his hands around Merlin’s length and slowly pumped along it. Merlin made a strangled cry he couldn’t silence.

“Merlin is everything okay?” Hunith asked. Merlin jabbed his elbow backward, trying to stop Arthur from distracting him, but Arthur dodged and continued to slowly jerk his dick, grinding his own hard cock against the small of Merlin’s back.

“Yeah mam, I’m fine,” he said, sounding winded. “Arthur says hi.” He could feel Arthur grinning against his skin as he sucked a love bite into the spot where his shoulder met his neck.

“Hi Hunith, I hope you’re having a lovely holiday,” Arthur said loudly enough for Merlin’s mobile to pick it up. He had pulled himself away from Merlin just long enough to greet her before setting back to work at taking Merlin apart. Merlin tilted his neck to the side to let Arthur get at it more easily, cursing how easy he was.

“What a lovely polite boy,” Hunith said, just loud enough for Arthur to hear. Merlin rolled his eyes as Arthur laughed delightedly against him. “Why can’t you be that polite, Merlin?”

“Yeah, Merlin, why can’t you be more like me?” Arthur whispered teasingly as his fingers tightened around Merlin’s cock and twisted slightly with each upstroke. The pace was slower than it needed to be for him to finish; Merlin vowed later to find a way to torture Arthur in retaliation.

“Thanks mam,” Merlin said, shooting for annoyed but landing somewhere in the region of breathless. “But it sounds like we interrupted something. We should let you go.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything important,” Hunith said breezily, and Merlin wanted to groan. Arthur was peeling his pyjama trousers down to expose his cock to the still-chilly air and all Merlin wanted was Christmas morning sex. He loved his mother, but he had priorities.

“Ah,” he replied faintly. Arthur moved around to kneel at his feet in front of the sofa, meeting his eyes for a split second before leaning in and swallowing his cock down in one smooth motion. Merlin shoved a fist into his mouth to keep himself from crying out, his hips lifting to seek out more of Arthur’s hot, wet heat.

“But I can tell when I’m not wanted,” Hunith teased. Merlin wanted to object, but coherent thought was not his strong suit just then. “Clearly you have something else on your mind. Or rather lower.”

“Mam you can’t just say things like that,” Merlin protested as he felt his entire face go hot.

“I’m your mother, I can say anything I’d like,” Hunith said. Merlin could hear the mischievous grin in her voice. He groaned, the noise tapering into a moan as Arthur did something with his tongue that sent shivers up and down his spine. “Go on and have your Christmas sex, I’ll talk to you the next time we’re in port.”

“I love you,” Merlin said, the embarrassment running bone-deep. He felt as though he should argue with her, to deny that anything was happening, but he knew he wouldn’t be convincing in the least. So he gave up.

“I love you too, cariad,” Hunith said, punctuating it with a loud kissing noise that Arthur heard. He pulled off Merlin’s dick long enough to snicker before licking from root to tip slowly. Merlin felt like he was going to die in the best possible way. “Have a wonderful Christmas with your young man. Say hello to Arthur for me.”

“I will, thanks.” When Hunith ended the call, Merlin carelessly tossed his mobile to the side and threaded his fingers through Arthur’s hair. Arthur teased at the slit with his tongue and Merlin shuddered a soft moan.

“You left me alone in bed,” Arthur accused. “Just me all by myself in a big, cold bed.” He gave Merlin an exaggerated pout before taking the head of Merlin’s cock into his mouth and sucking firmly. Merlin’s fingers twisted in his hair, tugging and pulling a strangled noise from Arthur.

“I said I’d be back,” he gasped. “You should have gone back to sleep instead of making my mother think I’m some sort of sex-crazed thing.” Arthur laughed around his mouthful of cock, and Merlin was torn between shoving him off in offended pique or letting him keep going. He could feel the tight knot of orgasm building low in his groin, his balls tightening in anticipation. It made his decision easy, and he let his eyes fall shut as Arthur’s hand joined his mouth on Merlin’s cock. He began jerking him hard and fast as his tongue flicked and laved over the swollen cockhead. His free hand moved to Merlin’s hip to hold him in place so he couldn’t thrust too far into Arthur’s mouth, presumably so he couldn’t choke him.

“Oh, I’m so close,” Merlin breathed, one hand moving from Arthur’s head to grip tightly in one of the throw pillows on the sofa. “Keep doing that, fuck, I’m gonna come.”

Arthur slowed down for a few seconds, and Merlin groaned in annoyance until he picked the pace back up. He was going to complain at him for being a fucking tease, but before he could open his mouth Arthur gave a final firm suck, swallowing him down as far as he could manage, and Merlin’s orgasm snuck up on him, his toes curling and the muscles in his legs shaking with the strength of it. He let out a long, loud moan as he pulsed come down Arthur’s throat.

“Nnh, that was good,” he said in a lazy, languid sort of voice when his senses returned to him. Arthur pulled away and laughed.

“Glad you recognise my skill,” he said, and Merlin threw the throw pillow at him. It missed when Arthur ducked in time with another laugh.

“Did you bring a condom out? I want you inside me,” Merlin said, spreading his legs in invitation. He gave Arthur a coy smile, and glanced at him from beneath his lashes. Arthur pressed a hand between his legs, rubbing at a very obvious bulge in his boxers.

“Come back to bed,” Arthur said, standing and hooking his arms beneath Merlin’s armpits to hoist him up and onto his feet. “I can fuck you then we can sleep a while longer.”

“You just want a lie in on Christmas,” Merlin accused in a grunting voice as Arthur manhandled him. The manhandling was pretty hot, though; he wondered what else Arthur could use his brute strength for.

“Guilty,” Arthur admitted with no shame. “We’re not children anymore, we don’t need to get up early for Father Christmas.”

“Do you not want to call your family?” Merlin asked.

“Less family talk, more fucking,” Arthur said, gently shoving Merlin in front of him and pushing him back toward the bedroom. Merlin allowed Arthur to have his way, for now.

“Give me my Christmas gift, then,” Merlin said with a saucy eyebrow wiggle. “I’ve been a good boy all year.”

“Debatable,” Arthur said skeptically. “But I certainly will give you something.”

Merlin fell backwards onto the crumpled up duvet, spreading his legs and drawing his knees to his chest to give Arthur a good view of where he was still fucked open from the night before. He watched Arthur’s eyes darken with want, and bit his own lip coyly.

“Come on then,” Merlin said in a low voice. “Your gift is waiting for you.”

***

“Your mum sounds great,” Arthur said later after wiping his mouth with the heel of his hand to get rid of any stray come. Merlin had a hand thrown over his eyes as he caught his breath. He lifted it long enough to give Arthur a half-hearted glare.

“I don’t really want to talk about my mam while we’re fucking,” he said. Arthur snorted.

“We aren’t really fucking any more,” he pointed out as he stood up to strip off, tie off and discard the condom in the bin.

“Semantics,” Merlin said, closing his eyes and enjoying the pleasant soreness of being well-fucked.

“Want to share a shower?” Arthur asked as he returned to the bed to curl himself around Merlin and nuzzle against his neck. Merlin loved how cuddly a post-coital Arthur was. He wrapped his arms around Arthur to pull him even closer. “I’ll do a fry-up after.”

“Why am I not surprised that you can do a fry-up but literally nothing else?” Merlin asked the ceiling with a wry smile.

“I never claimed to be a complex person, Merlin,” Arthur said, nuzzling closer.

“You sure you actually want to get up?” Merlin asked. “Because it seems like you just want to cling to me like an octopus and go back to sleep.”

“Why not both?” Arthur said.

“Come on, get up,” Merlin groaned, trying to extricate himself from Arthur’s grasp. “You were the one that suggested it.”

Arthur groaned. “Just a while longer?”

“Get your fit arse up, Pendragon. I expect my eggs to be over easy and my bacon to be nonexistent,” Merlin said in his best demanding voice. Arthur pouted.

“You have more faith in my egg cookery than you really ought to,” he said.

“I’ll settle for sunny side up, then. Harder to fuck up,” Merlin grinned.

“Yes well… please manage your expectations.”

“I’ll do my best. Now come ravish me in the shower,” Merlin said, backing up toward the bathroom and beckoning Arthur with one finger.

“Whoa whoa whoa, nobody said anything about ravishing anyone. I’m not sure I could get it up again so soon,” Arthur said. Merlin laughed.

The shower ended up being long and luxurious, the two of them unable to keep their hands off each other as they soaped and touched and caressed in teasing, light brushes of their fingers. It didn’t lead to anything further, though it was a close thing at one point as they each took their time making sure their cocks were nice and clean.

When they were finished, they lingered on drying each other off and dressing, sharing more touches and lingering kisses. Merlin wore his ugliest Christmas jumper, the one he wore every year for the past five years, while Arthur donned the softest red cashmere jumper Merlin had ever touched.

“Oh my god I want this so badly,” he said as he ran his hand slowly along the length of Arthur’s arm. Arthur looked at him, wide-eyed with surprise, and laughed.

“Well I know what I’m getting you for Christmas next year,” he said.

“I want to be the guy that declines expensive clothing as gifts, but if every jumper I owned were suddenly replaced by luxury cashmere I could probably die happy,” Merlin said, following Arthur out to the kitchen, unable to stop petting him as if he were a particularly soft cat.

“Good to know,” Arthur said wryly, pulling out pans to start breakfast as promised. “Want to make some coffee while I get this going?”

***

After a surprisingly satisfying breakfast of eggs, toast, fried mushrooms and tomatoes — Merlin even forgave that the eggs were overcooked, Arthur had put so much effort into it — they sat together on the floor in front of the tree with their coffee refreshed, knees bumping together.

“So I know we didn’t talk about gifts, but I got you something anyway,” Merlin said, reaching behind the tree to where he had tucked his wrapped gift the first night he had arrived and setting it in his lap, covering it with his folded hands.

“You didn’t have to get me anything, Merlin,” Arthur protested, and Merlin shrugged with a half smile.

“I know, but I wanted to. And at first I didn’t even know what to get you,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh. “After all, what do you get when you’re a poor student for a guy who can buy himself whatever he wants?” He drummed his fingers on the gift, the paper crinkling and the contents making a hollow sound. “But then my best mate reminded me that I already had the perfect gift for you, sitting around and gathering dust.” He picked up the package, wrapped sloppily in festive red paper adorned with white, gold and silver snowflakes, offering it to Arthur.

“You didn’t,” Arthur said, eyeing it suspiciously. “Merlin, I told you I couldn’t accept this.” Arthur took it anyway, turning it over in his hands and picking at the corner of one of the tape pieces with his fingernail.

“You told me that last year,” he said, “because we hardly knew each other. We know each other now, so it’s not weird or inappropriate.” Merlin laughed. “Well,” he added after a moment, “if you ignore the fact that I originally bought it for an ex. But I kind of feel like it’s always belonged to you, even before I met you. That doesn’t make sense.” Merlin shrugged, blushing.

“No, it does in a way,” Arthur said, smoothing the picked-at tape back down and examining the package from all angles. “ _Thank_ you, Merlin,” he said with a soft smile.

“Are you going to open it?” Merlin asked, nudging Arthur. Arthur’s smile turned to a grin, and he tore into the paper without finesse, revealing Merlin’s first edition copy of Kidnapped.

“Thank you so much,” Arthur reiterated, running a reverent hand over the cover. The book wasn’t in perfect condition, it had obvious signs of wear and tear, and smelled like an old, musty bookshop. But Arthur was looking at it as if it were more precious than any jewel, and Merlin knew he had made the right decision in giving it to him. “I’ll treasure it,” Arthur said, giving Merlin a serious look that made Merlin’s heart skip a beat.

“I know,” Merlin said with a nod. “I know it’s in good hands.”

“I got you something as well,” Arthur said, carefully setting the book next to him and reaching into the boughs of the tree as if rummaging around for something.

“Oh, you didn’t have to,” Merlin said, raising his hands in a polite but cursory refusal that he didn’t mean. He was curious what Arthur had got him, and when Arthur drew back from the tree branches with a red and white envelope tied clumsily with a ribbon, Merlin’s interest grew.

“Don’t be silly,” Arthur said, holding the envelope out for Merlin to take. He didn’t hesitate, grabbing it and pulling at the ribbon to unravel it. Arthur laughed. “Eager, are we?”

“Shut up, prat,” Merlin said with a teasing pout, before slipping his finger beneath the envelope flap to tear it open. The contents spilled out across Merlin’s lap, and he scooped them up to look at them. When he figured out what they were, he looked up at Arthur in surprise.

“Gift vouchers? For the train?” he asked. Arthur nodded hesitantly.

“There are 12, so you can come visit me once a month until next Christmas,” he said.

“That’s… really thoughtful of you,” Merlin said, flipping through the vouchers with an increasing smile. “Thank you, Arthur.”

“I just thought that a long distance relationship might be easier to bear if we were sure we’d see each other regularly. Even with both of us busy with classes, I’m sure we can figure out one weekend a month to spend together,” Arthur explained, sounding uncomfortable. Merlin threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“It sounds perfect,” he murmured against Arthur’s neck. “I love it. Most thoughtful boyfriend ever, even if he’s a posh prat.”

“I don’t want to miss you the way I did this year ever again,” Arthur whispered, clutching at Merlin’s jumper as he pressed closer in the hug.

“You’re gonna make me cry, you soppy clotpole,” Merlin said, squeezing Arthur tight. He pulled back and ruffled Arthur’s silken hair, mussing it more than it already was.

“Yeah well at least I didn’t re-gift something I bought for another man,” Arthur grumbled good-naturedly even as he reached over to run his fingers over the book cover. Merlin laughed as he rolled his eyes, before picking up the pile of train vouchers and shaking them in front of Arthur’s face.

“I’m going to come see you directly after I finish finals so you can deal with my neurotic breakdown over my marks,” he threatened.

“Honestly I’d like that,” Arthur said. “Give me a chance to take care of my annoying yet brilliant boyfriend.”

Merlin didn’t think he’d ever get over the happiness of being called Arthur’s boyfriend. He grinned at him and shrugged. “It’s pretty much the same as what you’ve been dealing with already, just with 1000% more nervous pacing.”

“I think we can probably figure out a few ways to distract you,” Arthur said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Oh I have no doubt,” Merlin said, shaking his head. “We should take a picture.”

“Sure, let me get my mobile,” Arthur said.

He walked on his knees over to the side table where both their phones were. He grabbed them both and tossed Merlin’s to him, where he managed to not fumble and drop it but only just, setting it on the carpet between them as Arthur returned to his side. He cosied up next to Merlin and turned his mobile’s camera on, snapping a few selfies with the tree as a background. Merlin made sure to sneak in a few kissy photos to match the photo booth pictures, and when Arthur was satisfied with the selection he dropped a loud kiss on Merlin’s cheek as he scrolled through his camera roll.

“Send me the best ones so I can send them to mam,” Merlin said as he tidied up the discarded wrapping paper, ribbons and envelope into a small pile to one side. Arthur made an affirmative noise, and a few seconds later Merlin heard his mobile vibrate on the floor.

“You still have me on your phone as ‘Hot Bahamas Fling Guy’?” Arthur asked, and Merlin turned back to see Arthur holding his phone up showing the message alert with the photos. “We’ve known each other for a year!” Arthur shot Merlin a wounded look. “And I distinctly remember putting just ‘Arthur’ in originally.” Merlin laughed as he plucked his mobile back out of Arthur’s hands.

“And I changed it pretty much immediately,” Merlin said. “Arthur, we could end up married in five years and you will still be in my mobile as ‘Hot Bahamas Fling Guy’. You are forever my Hot Bahamas Fling Guy.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows, and Merlin’s face went hot as he realised he had accidentally made it sound as though he was already planning their wedding. Before he could defend himself, Arthur shoved at Merlin’s arm.

“I don’t feel as though I qualify as a fling, though,” he said thoughtfully. “Even last year, I couldn’t stop thinking about you from the beginning. Some of those things we did could be counted as dates.”

“Still a fling,” Merlin said. “We didn’t make plans to meet up again until midway through the year. We talked more like friends than boyfriends. You even went and got yourself a different boyfriend while talking to me!” Merlin said. “And for the record I just want you to know that I’m not planning our wedding or anything. That was just an example of how you will always be Hot Bahamas Fling Guy.”

“Uh huh,” Arthur said, clearly not taking Merlin at his word. “And I wish you would drop the boyfriend thing. It lasted a week.”

“Drop it, I don’t ever talk about it!” Merlin exclaimed, shoving Arthur back. He wasn’t about to admit that the only reason he never talked about it was because he still felt a combination of jealousy and shame over his reaction. “I can’t drop it any more than I already have!”

“I still don’t know what came over me,” Arthur murmured after a few seconds of them playfully shoving each other back and forth. “I guess I just wanted to see if I could get over you or if you were a permanent affliction.”

“Hey,” Merlin objected. “Don’t talk about me as if I’m some disease.”

“You aren’t?” Arthur asked. Merlin punched his thigh.

“Arse.”

“Your arse, now. Officially.” Arthur grinned at him a bit shyly, and Merlin felt himself smiling back, not caring that he probably looked utterly besotted.

“Yeah, I guess. Maybe I really should start planning our wedding,” Merlin joked. He expected Arthur to deflect, or to tease him back, but Arthur’s eyes just crinkled further with the width of his smile. Merlin’s heart skipped a beat.

“Perhaps you should. I have a pretty good feeling about us,” he said, voice quiet and fond.

Merlin laughed softly, leaned his head against Arthur’s shoulder and rubbed his cheek against the soft fabric of his red jumper.

“Next year, maybe. But yeah, I have a good feeling, too.” Arthur’s wrapped his arm around Merlin, gathering him closer and rubbing his hand gently along the length of Merlin’s arm. "I've been thinking about when I'm finished at uni, I might do my foundation training in London."

Arthur pulled back to look at Merlin, surprised. "You don't think it's a bit early to be talking about that?" he asked.

Merlin shook his head. "I would probably want to do it there with or without you, honestly. But now I have an even bigger incentive to do it."

"We can start looking at flats together on one of your weekends visiting," Arthur said, snuggling close once more. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Now who's getting ahead of themselves?" he said teasingly. "I still have more than two years of uni left, clotpole. Who knows, by then you might be sick of me."

"I rather doubt that," Arthur said without a hint of hesitation. "And it never hurts to get an early start."

"Or we could just keep your current flat, I'm sure it's probably swank as anything," Merlin said with a roll of his eyes.

"That's also an option," Arthur nodded. "But I want you to be comfortable, so if after you've seen my place you want to move, then we'll move."

"It's still a long way off yet," Merlin reiterated, relaxing against Arthur's side. "No need to rush it."

They fell into a comfortable silence, before Merlin grinned, a thought occurring to him.

"What?" Arthur asked. "You make me nervous when you smile like that. Like you're plotting something."

Merlin swatted Arthur's arm, but didn't stop grinning. “I really ought to thank my uncle. Without that trip I didn’t want to take last year, we wouldn’t be here.”

“We’ll send him a gift basket,” Arthur said with a smile.

“When you say things like that I’m not sure to take you seriously or not,” Merlin said with a laugh. “You’re so posh that you might be serious.”

“Whatever, you love it,” Arthur said, unconcerned.

“Mm,” Merlin hummed. Outside, snow began falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays to everyone!


End file.
